Hyperinsulinemia as a determinant of microalbuminuria in essential hypertension

OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationship between insulinemia and urinary albumin excretion in a group of nonobese, young adult hypertensive patients, who had never been treated with antihypertensive drugs. PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty-nine patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitorings, urinary albumin excretion (UAE) measurements, and an oral glucose-tolerance test measuring glucose and insulin, were performed, and left ventricular mass was measured by echocardiography. Hypertensive patients were classified as normoalbuminuric when their UAE was < 30 mg/24 h (40 patients; mean UAE 13.4 +/- 7.0 mg/24 h), and as microalbuminuric…