The Clinical Implication of Nocturia in Predicting Hypertension among Working-Aged Koreans

BACKGROUND: Evidence has indicated that nocturia is a clinical manifestation of adverse health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. However, previous studies are less available for the clinical implication of nocturia on the development of hypertension. METHODS: Study participants were 32,420 working-aged Koreans (21,355 men and 11,065 women) who periodically received health checkups. They were categorized into 4 groups by the frequency of nocturia (never, <1, 1-2, and ≥3/week). We used Cox proportional hazards models to analyze the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident hypertension (multivariable-adjusted HR [95% CI]) in relation to the frequency of nocturia. Subgroup analysis was conducted by gender and sleep quality (good and poor sleep quality). RESULTS: In women, nocturia was associated with an increased risk of hypertension, compared with never nocturia (HR [95% CI]; never: reference, <1/week: 1.33 [1.10-1.60], 1-2/week: 1.26 [1.00-1.58], and ≥3/week: 1.34 [1.05-1.72]). This association was not observed in men (HR [95% CI]; never: reference, <1/week: 1.00 [0.93-1.08], 1-2/week: 1.00 [0.88-1.12], and ≥3/week: 1.06 [0.94-1.23]). In subgroup analysis by sleep quality, only women with good sleep quality showed an association between nocturia and the risk of hypertension. However, women with poor sleep quality and men did not show an association between the frequency of nocturia and the risk of hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Nocturia is a potential risk factor for incident hypertension in working-aged women with good sleep quality.