Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio in a first-morning void urine and prehypertension among Chinese Han women

Background. This study was operated to investigate the association between urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) and prehypertension among Chinese Han women. Methods. Information on blood pressure measurement and other variables were obtained, and blood and urine samples collected in 1796 women aged >= 30 years. The association between urinary ACR and prehypertension were analyzed by using multivariate non-conditional logistic regression models. Results. Average urinary ACR was higher in hypertensives than in prehypertensives (median: 15.54 vs 9.01 mg/g), and in prehypertensives than in normotensives (median: 9.01 vs 7.13 mg/g). Both systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased with urinary ACR. Compared with the lowest quartile of urinary ACR, multivariate adjusted odds ratios of prehypertension were 1.25 (95% confidence interval, 0.89-1.78), 1.95 (1.30-2.92) and 1.59 (1.02-2.48) for the second, third and fourth quartiles, respectively. After exclusion of subjects with diabetes or use of antihypertensive medication, the odds ratio of prehypertension still increased with urinary ACR levels. Conclusion. Increased urinary ACR was significantly and positively associated with prehypertension among Chinese Han women.