Hyperuricemia is independently associated with left ventricular hypertrophy in post-menopausal women but not in pre-menopausal women in rural Northeast China

The aim of this article is to estimate the relationship between hyperuricemia and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and to investigate whether menopause was associated with the relationship between hyperuricemia and LVH. This survey was conducted from July 2012 to August 2013. A total of 6029 women (3508, 58.2% were post-menopause) from the rural Northeast China were randomly selected and examined. LVH was defined using the 2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Age, body mass index, glucose, estimated glomerular filtration rate and lipid level were significantly correlated with serum uric acid level. LVH showed a gradual increase in accordance with the serum uric acid level in entire study population (<4.0 mg/dL, 11.4%; 4 to <5 mg/dL, 14.9%; 5 to <6 mg/dL, 18.9%; ≥6 mg/dL, 27.4%; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that hyperuricemia was a significantly independent risk factor for LVH in post-menopausal women [OR (95% CI): 1.367 (1.026, 1.821)], but not in pre-menopausal women [OR (95% CI): 1.290 (0.669, 2.486)]. These findings suggested that hyperuricemia can be used as a risk marker of LVH in a female population and, in particular, as an independent risk factor in post-menopausal women but not in pre-menopausal women.