title: Serum uric acid levels and mortality in the Japanese population: the Yamagata (Takahata) study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serum uric acid level is regulated by gender, dietary habit, genetic predisposition, and renal function, and is associated with the development of renal and cardiovascular diseases. This study prospectively investigated the association between serum uric acid levels and mortality in a community-based population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three thousand four hundred and eighty-seven subjects regardless of the antihyperuricemic medication (45 % male; mean age 62 years old) from the Takahata town in Japan participated in this study and were followed up for 8 years (median 7.5 years). We examined the association between serum uric acid levels at baseline and the all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, respectively, in this population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred seventy-nine subjects died during the follow-up period, with 49 deaths attributed to cardiovascular causes. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the all-cause mortality was significantly higher along with the increase in serum uric acid levels at baseline among female (Log-rank P < 0.01), but not male subjects (P = 0.97). Cox-proportional hazard model analysis with adjustment for possible confounders including age, renal function, and comorbidities revealed that hyperuricemia (uric acid ≥7.0 mg/dL) was an independent risk factor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, respectively, in female [hazard ratio (HR) 5.92, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 2.10-14.6 for all-cause mortality, and HR 10.7, 95 % CI 1.76-50.2 for cardiovascular mortality], but not male subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hyperuricemia was an independent risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in female, but not among the male subjects in a community-based population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Keita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamei
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan. kkonta@med.id.yamagata-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tsuneo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Konta
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunobu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Natsuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Asami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kabasawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Global COE, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Global COE, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.affiliation: Global COE, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Takamasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan.
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kubota
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033461:Hyperuricemia / Q000401:mortality*; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014527:Uric Acid
keywords: Cohort; Mortality; Population; Uric acid