Serum Uric Acid and the Risk of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum uric acid (UA) and the risk of dementia and its subtypes. Methods: Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched from inception to July 2020. Random-effect models were employed to analyze the standard mean difference (SMD) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Twenty-three eligible studies involving 5,575 participants were identified. The overall results showed lower levels of UA in dementia relative to non-dementia controls [SMD = -0.32 (-0.64; -0.01) p = 0.04]. The subgroup analysis of the type of dementia demonstrated a significant association of UA with Alzheimer's disease (AD) [SMD = -0.58 (-1.02; -0.15) p = 0.009] and Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) [SMD = -0.33 (-0.52; -0.14) p = 0.001] but not with vascular dementia (VaD). The stratification analysis of the concentrations of UA revealed that the UA quartile 1-2 was negatively correlated with dementia and neurodegenerative subtypes (p < 0.05), whereas a positive correlation of UA quartile 4 with dementia was noted (p = 0.028). Additionally, the meta-regression analysis on confounders showed that not age, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or smoking but education (p = 0.003) exerted an influence of the UA in the risk estimate of dementia. Conclusions: Low concentrations of UA (< 292 μmol/L or 4.91 mg/dL) is a potential risk factor for AD and PDD but not for VaD. The mechanism of different concentrations of the UA in dementia needs to be confirmed through further investigation.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; dementia; meta-analysis; risk factor; uric acid.