Objective: To assess the effect of the serum uric acid (UA) on insulin resistance (IR).
Methods: In 1999, an investigation on risk factors of cardiovascular disease was carried out using stratified-random sampling method in 1056 participants. In 2004 another investigation was carried out in the same population. On the basis of these two studies, insulin activity index (IAI) was calculated to assess insulin sensitivity in 697 non-diabetic subjects aged 35 - 64 years at the baseline of the studies.
Results: The natural logarithm of IAI in 5 years decreased in subjects with elevated baseline UA level (P < 0.001). The incidence of IR increased in subjects with elevated baseline UA level, from 20.3% in the first quartile to 36.6% in the fourth quartile. Compared with the first quartile, the odds ratio of the fourth quartile was 2.586, after adjustment for sex, age, changes of UA level in 5 years and main components of metabolic syndrome.
Conclusion: Elevated UA has close association with the incidence of IR.