Dyslipidemia Increases the Risk of Incident Hypertension in a Large Taiwanese Population Follow-Up Study

Abstract

Dyslipidemia is an important risk factor for hypertension and is strongly associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis and stroke. In this study, we investigated correlations between lipid profiles, including triglycerides, total cholesterol (Chol), high-and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C/LDL-C), and Chol/HDL-C, and baseline and incident hypertension. A total of 26,965 subjects with 4 years of follow-up data were enrolled from the Taiwan Biobank. In the cross-sectional cohort, associations between the prevalence of hypertension and lipid profiles were examined in all study participants (n = 26,965). In the longitudinal cohort, these associations were further assessed in the participants without baseline hypertension (n = 21,454). Multivariable analysis revealed that those in the second quartile (Q2) of triglycerides (compared to Q1; odds ratio (OR), 1.402; p < 0.001); Q3 of triglycerides (compared to Q1; OR, 1.365; p < 0.001); Q4 of triglycerides (compared to Q1; OR, 1.617; p < 0.001); Q3 of HDL-C (compared to Q1; OR, 0.886; p = 0.042); Q4 of HDL-C (compared to Q1; OR, 0.819; p = 0.002); Q2 of Chol/HDL-C (compared to Q1; OR, 1.144; p = 0.042); Q3 of Chol/HDL-C (compared to Q1; OR, 1.149; p = 0.034); and Q4 of Chol/HDL-C (compared to Q1; OR, 1.225; p = 0.002) were significantly associated with incident hypertension. In summary, high Chol/HDL-C, low HDL-C, and high triglycerides were associated with a higher risk of incident hypertension in the enrolled Taiwanese participants.