P-336: Plasma levels of C-reactive protein are associated with early renal dysfunction in newly diagnosed essential hypertensive patients

Elevated urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and low-grade inflammatory processes are both markers of subclinical atherosclerotic disease. In this study we examined whether high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), is correlated with UAE, in essential hypertensive patients. 47 newly diagnosed untreated non-diabetic patients with stage I to II essential hypertension [32 men, mean age=49 years, office blood pressure (BP)=146/96 mmHg] were divided into three groups according to hs-CRP values: Group A (hs-CRP≤1.62 mg/l), group B (hs-CRP=1.63–3.02 mg/l) and group C (hs-CRP>3.02 mg/l). Moreover, UAE was determined in three non-consecutive 24h urine samples, according to established techniques. For the pooled population, body mass index (BMI) was 27.63±3.5 kg/m2, UAE was 21.98±10 mg/24h, total cholesterol was 231±41 mg/dl, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 151±34 mg/dl, hs-CRP was 1.79±0.93 mg/l, left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was 105.5±23 g/m2 and relative wall thickness was 0.41±0.06. Patients in group A (n=23) compared to subjects in group B (n=19) and C (n=5) had lower office systolic BP (143.6±8.9 vs 145.8±11.4 vs 157±4.4 mmHg, p