Association between serum uric acid level and metabolic syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
Serum uric acid levels have been reported to be associated with a variety of cardiovascular conditions. However, the direct association between uric acid levels and metabolic syndrome remains controversial. Thus, we evaluated the association of serum uric acid levels and metabolic syndrome in a community-based cohort study in Korea.


METHODS
We performed cross-sectional analysis of baseline data of 889 males and 1491 females (aged 38 to 87) who participated in baseline examinations of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study: Kanghwa study. Blood samples were collected after at least an 8 hour fast. Uric acid quartiles were defined as follows: <4.8, 4.8-<5.6, 5.6-<6.5, ≥6.5 mg/dL in males; and <3.8, 3.8-<4.3, 4.3-<5.1, ≥5.1 mg/dL in females. Metabolic syndrome was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III Criteria with adjusted waist circumference cutoffs (90 cm for males; 80 cm for females). The association between serum uric acid quartiles and metabolic syndrome was assessed using multivariate logistic regression.


RESULTS
The odds ratio for having metabolic syndrome in the highest versus lowest quartiles of serum uric acid levels was 2.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.60 to 4.46) in males and 2.14 (95% CI, 1.50 to 3.05) in females after adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol intake, body mass index, total cholesterol, HbA1c, albumin, γ-glutamyltransferase, blood urea nitrogen, and log C-reactive protein. The number of metabolic abnormalities also increased gradually with increasing serum uric acid levels (adjusted p for trend < 0.001 in both sexes).


CONCLUSIONS
Higher serum uric acid levels are positively associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome in Korean males and females.
Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Ju-Mi
JM
Lee
Hyeon Chang
HC
Kim
Hye Min
HM
Cho
Sun Min
SM
Oh
Dong Phil
DP
Choi
Il
I
Suh
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033461:Hyperuricemia / Q000097:blood*; D007249:Inflammation; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D056910:Republic of Korea; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012423:Rural Health
D015415:Biomarkers