A Study of Assessment of Microalbuminuria in Essential Hypertension and its Correlation to Target Organ Damage

Background: Hypertension is the leading cause of the development of cardiac, cerebrovascular, and renal complications. At the time of initial diagnosis, many individuals with essential hypertension may already exhibit overt or subclinical target organ damage. The cost-effectiveness of blood pressure reduction through pharmacological treatment is notably higher when target organ abnormalities and/or co-morbidities are present. Consequently, evaluating subclinical target organ damage has become a crucial aspect of assessing hypertensive patients. We in the current study tried to evaluate microalbuminuria as the indicator of target organ damage. Methods: The study included patients newly diagnosed with essential hypertension based on the JNC VIII criteria. Additionally, patients with a history of essential hypertension were also included. The age group was patients from 30 years and above of both sexes. Chest X-ray, electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, and CT brain were done when indicated. Results: out of 100 cases of hypertension included in the study. The estimation of microalbuminuria showed that 27% of cases had microalbuminuria and the remaining 73% were negative for microalbuminuria. There is a trend of increasing microalbuminuria prevalence with advancing age. The highest prevalence (44.4%) is seen in the 61-70 age group. While less common, microalbuminuria can occur even in younger age groups, as seen in the 41-50 and 51-60 age groups. The duration of hypertension was moderately associated with the development of microalbuminuria, with a p-value equal to 0.03. the patients who have been receiving usual care for hypertension, none had features of microalbuminuria. Whereas there was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of MA in untreated or those on irregular treatment chi-square = 9.891, p-value = 0.01. Conclusion: The findings of our study suggest a strong correlation between microalbuminuria as a marker of target organ damage in patients with essential hypertension. Microalbuminuria was observed in a fairly large number of hypertensive patients. The rate of microalbuminuria was more commonly prevalent in older patients. Duration of hypertension was significant and positively related to the occurrence of microalbuminuria. Microalbuminuria was found to be related to target organ damage in the form of hypertensive retinopathy, left ventricular hypertrophy, and stroke.