Hyperinsulinemia for the development of hypertension: Data from the Hawaii-Los Angeles-Hiroshima study

The present study was to assess the association of metabolic factors including hyperinsulinemia, with the development of hypertension in Japanese-Americans. One hundred forty normotensive (< 140/90 mmHg) subjects aged 40 to 69 years old from the Hawaii-Los Angeles-Hiroshima study were followed for 15 years. Patients with cardiovascular disease were excluded. Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), serum total cholesterol (TC), tr[glycerides (TG), uric acid (UA), and glucose and insulin responses at baseline, 1 h, and 2 h after a glucose load were analyzed. Seventeen subjects became hypertensive (systolic BP greater than or equal to 160 mmHg, diastolic BP greater than or equal to 95 mmHg, or received drug treatment) during follow-up. Age- and sex-adjusted BMI, BP, serum UA, TG, insulin, and changes in fasting glucose during follow-up were higher in subjects who later became hypertensive than in those who did not. There was no difference in the change in BMI. Age- and sex-adjusted relative risks for the development of hypertension by quartiles of BMI, serum UA, TG, and the sum of insulin values (Sigma insulin) during a glucose load were highest in highest quartile of the distribution. When age, sex, systolic BP, BMI, serum UA, TC, TG, fasting glucose, Sigma insulin, and the change in BMI were used in a proportional hazard analysis, hyperinsulinemia, hyperuricemia, and systolic BP were found to be significant risk factors for hypertension. In conclusion, hyperinsulinemia, as well as obesity, hyperuricemia, and hypertriglyceridemia were associated with hypertension in Japanese-Americans. Hyperinsulinemia and hyperuricemia were independent predictors of the development of hypertension.