Uric Acid and Hypertension

Background: Serum uric acid (SUA) has got increasing interest as a potential marker and possible contributor tohypertension. Hyperuricemia frequently coexists with obesity and other cardiometabolic risk factors, while experimentalstudies have proposed mechanisms involving endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, renal microvascular injury, alteredsodium handling and activation of neurohormonal pathways. The present study evaluated the relationship between SUA andhypertension in adults and examined associations with blood pressure, obesity, age and sex. Materials and Methods: Thiscomparative cross-sectional study was conducted over one month, from September 2026 to October 2026, and included 120adults. Sixty participants were classified as hypertensive cases and 60 as a comparison group. Of the hypertensiveparticipants, 43 had stage 1 and 17 had stage 2 hypertension. The comparison group included 40 participants with normalblood pressure and 20 classified as prehypertensive according to the study protocol. Fasting venous blood was collected afterapproximately 8–12 hours of fasting. Serum was separated by centrifugation and SUA was measured using an enzymaticcolorimetric uricase-peroxidase (Trinder) method on an automated or semi-automated analyzer. Hyperuricemia was definedas SUA >6.5 mg/dL. BMI was classified using WHO international BMI categories. Data were analyzed using Epi Infoversion 3.5.3, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results: Mean age was 50.62±10.04 years among cases and48.34±12.66 years among comparison participants (p=0.32). Mean SUA was significantly higher among cases thancomparison participants (6.88±1.63 vs 5.35±1.83 mg/dL; p=0.0001). Hyperuricemia was present in 37 (62%) cases and 16(26%) comparison participants (p=0.0002). Mean SBP was 150.96±9.21 mmHg in cases and 116.08±5.35 mmHg incomparison participants, while mean DBP was 98.62±10.87 and 75.08±8.20 mmHg, respectively (both p=0.00001). SUAcorrelated positively with SBP (r=0.45, p=0.001) and DBP (r=0.44, p=0.001). Participants with SUA >6.5 mg/dL had higherSBP and DBP than those with SUA ≤6.5 mg/dL. BMI was significantly higher among hyperuricemic participants(28.28±3.89 vs 23.03±3.49 kg/m²; p=0.00001). Logistic regression showed significant associations of hyperuricemia withhypertension (OR 4.07, 95% CI 1.59–10.37; p=0.0033) and obesity (OR 7.00, 95% CI 1.65–29.54; p=0.0081). Conclusion:SUA was substantially higher in hypertensive adults and was positively associated with both systolic and diastolic bloodpressure. Hyperuricemia was also strongly associated with obesity. The findings support SUA as an important correlate ofhypertension in this study population, while prospective studies are required to determine temporal relationships andcausality.