title: Hyperuricemia is independently associated with endothelial dysfunction in postmenopausal women but not in premenopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between uric acid, endothelial function and cardiovascular risk factors and to investigate whether menopausal status was associated with the relationship between uric acid and endothelial function in women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  3 general hospitals in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  749 Japanese women aged 30-74 years recruited from people who underwent health-screening examinations with agreement for measurement of vascular function.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured serum concentrations of uric acid and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Percentage of FMD (peak diameter-baseline diameter/baseline diameter) was used for analysis. Endothelial dysfunction was defined as FMD ≤4.90%, division point for the lowest tertile and the middle tertile of FMD. Menopause women were defined as participants without menstruation for over 1 year or participants with a history of hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 749 participants, 368 (49.1%) were premenopausal women and 381 (50.9%) were postmenopausal women. Age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, estimated glomerular filtration rate and Framingham risk score were significantly correlated with serum uric acid level. FMD showed a gradual decrease in accordance with the serum uric acid level in the entire study population (<4 mg/dL, 6.85±3.65%; 4 to <5 mg/dL, 6.79±3.60%; 5 to <6 mg/dL, 6.24±3.58%; ≥6 mg/dL, 5.27±3.18%; p=0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that uric acid was a significantly independent risk factor for endothelial dysfunction in postmenopausal women (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.50), but not in premenopausal women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that uric acid can be used as a risk marker of endothelial dysfunction in a female population, and particularly as an independent risk factor in postmenopausal women but not in premenopausal women.
  UMIN000003409.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maruhashi
authors.forename: Ayumu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soga
authors.forename: Noritaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Idei
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mikami
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kajikawa
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hidaka
authors.forename: Yasuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kihara
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chayama
authors.forename: Chikara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noma
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
authors.forename: Bonpei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Takase
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamashina
authors.forename: Yukihito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Higashi
keywords: Pathology; Vascular Medicine