Antioxidant status and urinary stone risk parameters in essential hypertension

The present study was carried out on normal subjects (n = 20) and hypertensive patients (n = 20) to find the possible difference between the urinary parameters and antioxidant status. We found that hypertensives had hypocitraturia (p<0.001), hypercalciuria (p<0.01), increased lipid peroxide (p<0.001) in plasma, a decreased level of reduced glutathione (p<0.001) and decreased superoxide dismutase activity (p < 0.001) in their hemolysate when compared with normals. The altered antioxidant status may cause decreased excretion of citrate and increased excretion of calcium in the urine of hypertensive patients. Hypocitraturia and hypercalciuria were regarded as a pathogenic link between hypertension and renal stone formation.