Microalbuminuria among participants with high-normal blood pressure attending a tertiary health institution in Nigeria

Background: Participants with high-normal blood pressure (BP) (systolic BP [SBP] 130–139 mmHg and/or diastolic BP [DBP] 85–89 mmHg) have higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors compared with optimal BP (SBP In the present study, the prevalence of microalbuminuria, factors associated with it, and other CVD risk factors were assessed among participants with high-normal BP in comparison to controls. Methods and Results: Out of 200 participants screened, 92 with high-normal BP (Group 1) and 97 with optimal BP (Group 2) who had no history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus were consecutively recruited after satisfying the inclusion criteria. Microalbuminuria was determined using Micral test strips using first-morning urine sample. The mean age of participants in Group 1 was 33.39 ± 5.17 years, while that for Group 2 was 27.01 ± 7.4 years (P ≤ 0.001). The prevalence of microalbuminuria was higher among participants in Group 1 than in participants in Group 2 (12.9% vs. 4.1%, P = 0.037). Participants in Group 1 were older, had higher mean SBP, DBP, body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides than those in Group 2. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed a significant association between BMI and microalbuminuria among all the study participants (r = 0.625, P ≤ 0.007), and the BMI explains 37.7% of the variability of urinary albumin excretion among participants (R2 = 0.377, P = 0.007). Conclusion: Participants with high-normal BP had a higher prevalence of microalbuminuria and risk factors for CVD than those with optimal BP. The results suggest that participants' BMI is linked to urinary albumin excretion, and if proven in larger studies, the findings might be useful in the early prevention of CVD among individuals with high-normal BP.