4.2 Article

Uric acid and the cardiovascular profile of African and Caucasian men

Journal

JOURNAL OF HUMAN HYPERTENSION
Volume 24, Issue 10, Pages 639-645

Publisher

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/jhh.2010.1

Keywords

uric acid; cardiovascular disease; metabolic syndrome; African population; Caucasian population

Funding

  1. Southern African National Research foundation (NRF GUN) [2073040]
  2. Medical Research Council
  3. Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research (AUTHeR) from the Northwest University
  4. Southern African National Research Foundation [GUN 2073040]
  5. Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research

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The African population is considered a high-risk group for the development of hypertension, and identifying risk factors are therefore essential in preventive actions against cardiovascular disease (CVD). Elevated levels of uric acid (UA) are often associated with CVD. Our first aim was to establish possible ethnic differences in UA levels between African and Caucasian men. Our second aim was to determine any associations between UA levels and cardio-metabolic variables, and also how these correlates differ between the two groups. African (N = 87) and Caucasian (N = 121) men participated in this cross-sectional study. Our results have shown that African men had significantly lower (353 +/- 87.7 vs 401 +/- 98.2; P<0.01) UA levels compared with Caucasian men. Waist circumference and triglycerides correlated strongly with UA in both ethnic groups. This was confirmed with a forward stepwise multiple regression analysis. After adjustment for confounders, the correlation between UA and triglycerides remained significant only in the Caucasians (r = 0.29; P = 0.02), whereas only the African men showed an independent correlation between UA and total peripheral resistance (TPR) (r = 0.23; P = 0.04). TPR increased significantly across UA tertiles only in the African men (P = 0.01 vs P = 0.96). In conclusion, despite their lower UA levels, Africans showed an independent relationship between UA and vascular resistance, indicating a possible explanation for their high prevalence of hypertension. Journal of Human Hypertension (2010) 24, 639-645; doi:10.1038/jhh.2010.1; published online 11 February 2010

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