Background: Previous studies have suggested a possible association between hyperuricemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the risk of NAFLD in individuals with hyperuricemia had not been fully quantified. A systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant studies was carried out to estimate the influence of hyperuricemia on the risk of NAFLD.
Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Wanfang databases were searched for cohort or cross-sectional studies assessing the association between hyperuricemia and NAFLD. Relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were pooled using a random-effects model to estimate the impact of hyperuricemia on the risk of NAFLD.
Results: Thirteen studies from 12 articles were finally included in the meta-analysis. There were a total of 117,712 participants and 28,446 (24.2%) NAFLD cases. Individuals with hyperuricemia had an obviously increased risk of NAFLD compared with those without hyperuricemia (RR=1.79, 95% CI 1.55-2.07, P<0.001). Increased risk of NAFLD was obviously associated with hyperuricemia in both men (RR=1.26, 95% CI 1.15-1.37, P<0.001) and women (RR=2.01, 95% CI 1.58-2.56, P<0.001). Subgroup analyses further identified the robustness of the association between hyperuricemia and NAFLD.
Conclusion: Hyperuricemia is associated with an increased risk of NAFLD in Asian populations. Further prospective cohort studies are needed to assess the impact of hyperuricemia on the risk of NAFLD in Western countries.