Prevalence of Hyperuricemia and Its Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Subclinical Target Organ Damage

Paula Antelo-Pais; Miguel Ángel Prieto-Díaz; Rafael M Micó-Pérez; Vicente Pallarés-Carratalá; Sonsoles Velilla-Zancada; José Polo-García; Alfonso Barquilla-García; Leovigildo Ginel-Mendoza; Antonio Segura-Fragoso; Facundo Vitelli-Storelli; Vicente Martín-Sánchez; Álvaro Hermida-Ameijerias; Sergio Cinza-Sanjurjo; Investigators of the IBERICAN Study and of the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (SEMERGEN) Foundation

doi:10.3390/jcm12010050

Prevalence of Hyperuricemia and Its Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Subclinical Target Organ Damage

J Clin Med. 2022 Dec 21;12(1):50. doi: 10.3390/jcm12010050.

Authors

Paula Antelo-Pais¹, Miguel Ángel Prieto-Díaz², Rafael M Micó-Pérez³, Vicente Pallarés-Carratalá^{4

5}, Sonsoles Velilla-Zancada⁶, José Polo-García⁷, Alfonso Barquilla-García⁸, Leovigildo Ginel-Mendoza⁹, Antonio Segura-Fragoso¹⁰, Facundo Vitelli-Storelli¹¹, Vicente Martín-Sánchez¹², Álvaro Hermida-Ameijerias¹³, Sergio Cinza-Sanjurjo¹⁴; Investigators of the IBERICAN Study and of the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (SEMERGEN) Foundation

Affiliations

¹ Santa Comba Health Centre, Health Area of Santiago de Compostela, 15970 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
² Vallobín-La Florida Health Centre, 33012 Oviedo, Spain.
³ Fontanars dels Alforins Health Centre, Xàtiva-Ontinyent Department of Health, 46635 Valencia, Spain.
⁴ Health Surveillance Unit, Mutual Insurance Union, 12004 Castellon, Spain.
⁵ Department of Medicine, Jaume I University, 12071 Castellon, Spain.
⁶ Joaquin Elizalde Health Centre, 26004 Logroño, Spain.
⁷ Casar de Cáceres Health Centre, 10200 Cáceres, Spain.
⁸ Trujillo Health Center, 10200 Cáceres, Spain.
⁹ Ciudad Jardín Health Center, 29014 Málaga, Spain.
¹⁰ Epidemiology Unit, Semergen Research Agency, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
¹¹ Gene-Environment-Health Interaction Research Group (GIIGAS)/Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain.
¹² Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), Epidemiology and Public Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERESP), University of León, 24071 León, Spain.
¹³ Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, 15706 A Coruña, Spain.
¹⁴ Porto do Son Health Centre, Health Area of Santiago de Compostela, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Networking Biomedical Research Centre-Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV), 15970 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Abstract

The role of uric acid levels in the cardiovascular continuum is not clear. Our objective is to analyze the prevalence of hyperuricemia (HU) and its association with cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF), subclinical target organ damage (sTOD), and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). We evaluated the prevalence of HU in 6.927 patients included in the baseline visit of the IBERICAN study. HU was defined as uric acid levels above 6 mg/dL in women, and 7 mg/dL in men. Using adjusted logistic regression models, the odds ratios were estimated according to CVRF, sTOD, and CVD. The prevalence of HU was 16.3%. The risk of HU was higher in patients with pathological glomerular filtration rate (aOR: 2.92), heart failure (HF) (aOR: 1.91), abdominal obesity (aOR: 1.80), hypertension (HTN) (aOR: 1.65), use of thiazides (aOR: 1.54), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (aOR: 1.36), atrial fibrillation (AFIB) (aOR: 1.29), and albuminuria (aOR: 1.27). On the other hand, being female (aOR: 0.82) showed a reduced risk. The prevalence of HU was higher in men, in patients presenting CVRF such as HTN and abdominal obesity, and with co-existence of LVH, atrial fibrillation (AFIB), HF, and any form of kidney injury. These associations raise the possibility that HU forms part of the early stages of the cardiovascular continuum. This may influence its management in Primary Healthcare because the presence of HU could mean an increased CV risk in the patients.

Keywords: associated risk; cardiovascular risk; hyperuricemia; prevalence.

Grants and funding

The researchers: members of the Scientific Committee or the Steering Committee, general coordinator and principal investigator have not received any remuneration for participating in the IBERICAN study. The IBERICAN study is financed by the SEMERGEN Foundation with its own funds and has received aid to defray occasional expenses for statistical analysis and dissemination of results (AstraZeneca, Menarini).