The study "Endemic Nephropathy in Croatia - Epidemiology, Etiology and Pathophysiology" was conducted in the villages near Slavonski Brod throughout a period of seven years. Subjects were divided into three groups according to the value of their blood pressure (BP): 295 subjects (33.5 %) were classified into the group with optimal blood pressure (OAT), 317 subjects (36 %) were classified as prehypertensive (PHT), and 268 subjects (30.5 %) as untreated hypertensives (HT). All subjects underwent a physical examination, and provided blood and urine samples for laboratory tests. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured six times with an OMRON device using appropriate cuff size. Mean values were used for analysis. Subjects with the OAT were the youngest, the PHTs are significantly older, and the HTs were the oldest. Subjects with the PHT also had significantly higher body weight, waist circumference, BMI, fasting serum glucose, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels compared to the OATs. There was significantly higher number of subjects with the metabolic syndrome in the PHT group than in the OAT group. There were no significant differences between the concentration of the HGFin the PHT and HT groups compared to the OAT group. A significantly positive correlation was found between systolic and diastolic blood pressure values and HGF concentration for all subjects. The correlation was higher for diastolic AT. There was a significantly positive correlation between HGF and TGF beta values for all subjects, while there was no significant difference between the HGF concentration and blood leukocyte count or CRP. There was also a significant correlation between HGF and albuminuria for all subjects. No significant difference was found in HGF concentration in relation to the presence of metabolic syndrome in all subjects Multivariant linear regression showed that systolic BP and HGF concentration are independent predictors of albuminuria elevation, whereas age and TGF beta are independent predictors of HGF concentration elevation. At the end of the seven- or five-year follow-up, significantly higher number of subjects developed arterial hypertension in the PHT group compared to the OAT group.