Novel pathological implications of serum uric acid with cardiovascular disease risk in obesity

Abstract

Aims: This cohort study intended to elucidate the association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and cardiovascular disease events in Japanese patients with obesity.

Methods: Altogether, 450 obese Japanese outpatients were enrolled in a multicenter prospective cohort Japan, the Japan Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome Study. Primary analysis regarding the measurements of cardiovascular risk factors, including SUA levels, and the occurrence of macrovascular complications was based on following the participants over a 5-year period.

Results: Of the eligible patients, 335 (74.4%) were followed into the fifth year. During the study period, 15 coronary heart disease, 7 stroke, and 6 arteriosclerosis obliterans events occurred in 39 patients. The CVD incidence rate was 15.8 per 1000 person-years. In the analysis of adjusted models for traditional risk factors, hyperuricemia was a significant factor for the incidence of CVD events, especially in female obese patients. Additionally, we estimated the association between SUA levels and CVD events using cubic spline models, which showed a U-shaped association in both male and female patients.

Conclusions: SUA is an effective predictor of CVD events in female obese patients and a risk factor for CVD incident in obese patients.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Effective predictor; Obesity; U-shaped relationship; Uric acid.