Causal relationship between serum uric acid and abnormal blood pressure based on the panel model study: A 5-year cohort study

Background and aims: To investigate the relationship between elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels and blood pressure (BP). Methods and results: Based on the Beijing Health Management Cohort, 5276 health examination people were enrolled. Cross-lagged model was used to explore the relationship between SUA levels and blood pressure. The results showed: (1) increased SUA and increased systolic blood pressure (SBP): (1) The path coefficients from baseline SUA to follow-up SBP were statistically significant in both the general population (beta = 0.034, P < 0.05) and men (beta = 0.048, P < 0.05). The path coefficients from baseline SBP to follow-up SUA were not statistically significant in either the general population (beta = 0.010, P > 0.05) or men (beta = 0.011, P > 0.05). (2) The path coefficients from baseline SUA to follow-up SBP and from baseline SBP to follow-up SUA were not sta-tistically significant in women with BMI >= 25 kg/m(2) and BMI < 25 kg/m(2). (2) Increased SUA and diastolic blood pressure (DBP): (1) There was no statistical significance between the path coefficients from baseline DBP to follow-up SUA and the path coefficients from baseline SUA to follow-up DBP. (2) In men and women, BMI >= 25 kg/m(2) and BMI < 25 kg/m(2), the path coefficients from baseline DBP to follow-up SUA and from baseline SUA to follow-up DBP were not statistically significant. Conclusions: SUA can increase blood pressure in the general male population; no reverse time sequence relationship was found. The temporal relationships between SUA levels and SBP abnormalities were different in the sex and BMI subgroups. No bidirectional causal temporal relation-hip was found between SUA elevation and DBP abnormality. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).