Association between serum uric acid, metabolic syndrome, and carotid atherosclerosis in Japanese individuals.
OBJECTIVE
There are few data available on possible independent association between uric acid and carotid atherosclerosis. Here we first sought to investigate association between uric acid levels and metabolic syndrome in Japanese; second, we assessed whether there is an independent association of uric acid with prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis in individuals subdivided according to gender and metabolic syndrome status.


RESULTS
Cross-sectional data from 8144 individuals who underwent general health screening were analyzed. After adjusting for age, total cholesterol, and smoking status, the odds ratios (95% CI) of sex-specific quartiles of serum uric acid for metabolic syndrome were 1.0, 1.06 (0.60 to 1.87), 2.18 (1.30 to 3.64), and 4.17 (2.56 to 6.79) in women, and 1.0, 0.92 (0.74 to 1.14), 1.52 (1.25 to 1.65), and 1.97 (1.61 to 2.40) in men. After adjusting for age, serum levels, total cholesterol, and smoking status, prevalence of carotid plaque was higher in subjects in the second, third, and fourth quartiles of uric acid level with odds ratios (95% CI) of 1.24 (1.01 to 1.52), 1.37 (1.11 to 1.68), and 1.31 (1.05 to 1.63), respectively, in men without metabolic syndrome but not in men with metabolic syndrome or in women with or without metabolic syndrome.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome showed a graded increase according to serum uric acid values in both genders. In men who did not have metabolic syndrome, uric acid was found to be an independent risk factor for incidence of carotid plaque.
Ishizaka
Nobukazu
N
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. nobuishizka-tky@umin.ac.jp
Ishizaka
Yuko
Y
Toda
Ei-Ichi
E
Nagai
Ryozo
R
Yamakado
Minoru
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood*
D014527:Uric Acid; D001663:Bilirubin