The relationship between self-reported habitual snoring and hyperuricemia among Chinese urban adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Growing evidence suggests an independent relationship between habitual snoring and metabolic abnormalities. Currently, there are few data available on the association between snoring and hyperuricemia. Therefore, we evaluated the cross-sectional association between snoring and serum uric acid (UA) concentration and ascertain the effects of different snoring intensities on hyperuricemia among Chinese urban adults in Nanjing.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study including 7699 participants (4197 men and 3502 women) from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital aged ≥18 years over a two year (ie, 2016-2018) period. All participants were divided into four groups based on Snoring scores. Questionnaires, physical examinations and biochemical tests were conducted. Hyperuricemia was defined as levels of serum UA > 6.8 mg/dL in males and >6.0 mg/dL in females. We used a generalized linear model to investigate the association between snoring and serum UA concentration and logistic regression model to investigate the association between snoring and likelihood of having hyperuricemia in the age-, sex-adjusted model and in a multivariable model adjusting for demographic factor, plasma lipid profiles, blood glucose, blood pressure, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

Results: The prevalence of hyperuricemia was 10.05% in the studied population and gradually increased across the snoring scores (P < 0.0001). We found that mild snoring, moderate, and severe snoring intensity were associated with high serum UA in the age-, sex-adjusted model and in a multivariable model adjusting for demographic and lifestyle/behavioral risk factors. The association was insisted with the addition of variables related to clinical outcomes such as diabetes, hypertension, and high-cholesterol levels.

Conclusions: Our results showed self-reported habitual snoring was associated with higher serum UA concentration among Chinese urban adults. Findings of this study indicate the significance of early detection and treatment of snoring to prevent hyperuricemia.

Keywords: Cross-sectional study; Hyperuricemia; Self-reported habitual snoring.