Higher serum lycopene is associated with reduced prevalence of hypertension in overweight or obese adults

Introduction: Epidemiologic studies suggest an association between overweight/obesity and hypertension. As a middle mediator between overweight/obesity and hypertension, serum uric acid plays an important role in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. As a natural antioxidant, lycopene can effectively inhibit the angiotensinconverting enzyme activity and attenuate oxidative stress induced by angiotensin-II. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine whether lycopene could have an association with lower levels of hypertension in individuals who are overweight and obese. Methods: A total of 8556 adult participants with BMI >= 25 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2006 were used to examine the associations among serum uric acid, serum lycopene and hypertension in this study. Results: It was found that there was a significant positive association between serum uric acid and hypertension while there was a significant inverse association between serum lycopene and hypertension. Furthermore, there was a significant association between the ratio of serum lycopene to serum uric acid and hypertension in adults who are overweight/obese. Conclusions: Therefore, lycopene has a significant association with lower levels of hypertension in individuals who are overweight and obese.