Are the levels of uric acid associated with biometeorological conditions?

Jerzy Romaszko; Ewa Dragańska; Iwona Cymes; Marek Drozdowski; Leszek Gromadziński; Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152020

Are the levels of uric acid associated with biometeorological conditions?

Sci Total Environ. 2022 May 1:819:152020. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152020. Epub 2022 Jan 7.

Authors

Jerzy Romaszko¹, Ewa Dragańska², Iwona Cymes², Marek Drozdowski³, Leszek Gromadziński⁴, Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family Medicine and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. Electronic address: jerzy.romaszko@uwm.edu.pl.
² Department of Water Management and Climatology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland.
³ Department of Psychology and Sociology of Health and Public Health, School of Public Health, Collegium Medicum, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland.
⁴ Department of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.

PMID: 35007576
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152020

Abstract

Hyperuricemia is an independent risk factor for renal and cardiovascular diseases and is closely associated with gout episodes. It is caused, inter alia, by nutritional habits and genetic factors, and also displays seasonal variability conditioned by meteorological factors. The impact of meteorological factors, including both cold and heat stress, on the human physiology is presented based on the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) - a biometeorological index derived from an analysis of human thermal balance. The aim of our study was to establish whether seasonal variations significantly affect routinely measured urine acid (UA) levels and could eventually support the clinical decision making process, as well as assessing whether UTCI values are correlated with UA levels in blood serum. This work presents a retrospective epidemiological study of data collected in Olsztyn (Poland). Study material comprised 54,536 results of ambulatory tests measuring UA levels, performed during the period 2016-2019. The analysis concerned correlations between UA and the ages of female and male subjects as well as existing biometeorological conditions as represented by UTCI values in an annual cycle. UA levels in females were found to be lower (4.94 ± 1.37 SD) as compared to those of males (6.13 ± 1.43 SD) and demonstrated a strong positive correlation with age. UA values differed significantly (p < 0.05) on days characterized by cold stress and heat stress, for the oldest age group. UA levels were found to differ depending on the season, but these relationships were not statistically significant, except for significantly higher UA levels in females in autumn (p < 0.001). However, there was an evident difference in population UA levels under cold stress conditions (lower) and heat stress conditions (higher) in the elderly. The UTCI is an adequate predictor of population variations in UA levels since it takes into account the variability of local meteorological conditions.

Keywords: Cold stress; Diet; Gout; Thermal stress; Universal Thermal Climate Index; Uric acid.

MeSH terms

Aged
Climate
Female
Heat Stress Disorders*
Humans
Male
Meteorology
Retrospective Studies
Uric Acid*

Substances

Uric Acid