Elevated homocysteine and hypertension in Xinjiang Province, China.
BACKGROUND
Few data are available comparing homocysteine (Hcy) levels in patients with hypertension in different ethnic groups.


OBJECTIVE
This study sought to determine whether there are associations of blood pressure and Hcy levels in patients with hypertension from Xinjiang Province, China.


METHODS
We examined the serum total Hcy levels in a total of 451 Chinese of various ethnic groups (Han n=234 [51.9%], Uygur n=102 [22.6%], Kazak n=61 [13.5%], Hui n=54 [12.0%]) aged 18-78 years. Two groups of subjects were studied: 1) non-hypertensive, n=101; (2) hypertensive, n=350. We investigated the serum Hcy levels relationship with hypertension.


RESULTS
Hcy levels of Kazak in no hypertension and hypertension patients were highest (11.9 +/- 9.8 vs 19.0 +/- 11.8 umol/L, respectively, unadjusted P=.004, adjusted P=.016). This pattern of higher Hcy values in hypertension patients was consistent across all ethnic groups even after adjustment (all P<0.05). The hypertension risks in the elevated Hcy (>13.9 umol/L) was 3.5 (95% CI, 2.2-5.4) times the normal Hcy (< or = 13.9 umol/L) (P<0.001). Even after adjustment for potential confounders, this difference remained 3.1 times higher (95% CI, 1.9-4.8) (P<.001). Bivariate correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship of Hcy with systolic or diastolic blood pressure across all ethnic groups.


CONCLUSIONS
This study confirms the existence of a significant association between hypertension and Hcy in Chinese population groups.
Lu
Hang
H
Department of Cardiovascular, Urumqi Third People Hospital, Urumqi, China. hanglu07@yahoo.com.cn
Lu
Zhen Hong
ZH
Li
Peng Gang
PG
Wang
Ying Ying
YY
Yan
Zhao Yang
ZY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
D006710:Homocysteine