title: High normal urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio predicts development of hypertension in Korean men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Microalbuminuria is known as a risk factor for hypertension. Recently it was suggested that urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), even within the normal range, can be associated with hypertension, but the temporal relationship between normal range UACR and hypertension was not confirmed. Therefore the aim of this study was to verify an association between normal range UACR and the development of hypertension in Korean men.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This prospective cohort study was performed on 1,284 initially non-hypertensive Korean men. The total follow-up period was 4,109.5 person-years and the mean follow-up period was 3.2±1.51 years. Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) for the risk of hypertension development. After adjusting for multiple covariates, the HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) for incident hypertension, comparing the second to the fourth quartiles of UACR level to the first quartile, were 1.35 (95% CI: 0.93-1.97), 1.55 (95% CI: 1.07-2.25) and 1.89 (95% CI: 1.31-2.71), respectively (P for trend=0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High UACR within the normal range was significantly associated with hypertension development. Furthermore, this association remained significant after adjusting for multiple baseline covariates.
authors: Total Healthcare Center, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University, School of Medicine.
authors: Sung Keun
authors: SK
authors: Park
authors: Soo Young
authors: SY
authors: Moon
authors: Chang-Mo
authors: CM
authors: Oh
authors: Jae-Hong
authors: JH
authors: Ryoo
authors: Min Suk
authors: MS
authors: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000652:urine*; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine