Objective. To examine cross-sectionally whether intraabdominal fat area (IAFA), i.e., visceral fat, and liver fat assessed by computed tomography (CT) are independently associated with hyperuricemia. Methods. Subjects were 801 Japanese men not taking antidiabetic, antihypertensive, or urate-lowering medications, without any history of renal disease, cardiovascular disease, or cancer, and with serum creatinine <1.5 mg/dl. Abdominal, thoracic, and thigh fat areas were measured by CT. Total fat area (TFA) was the sum of these fat areas. Total subcutaneous fat area (TSFA) was TFA minus IAFA. Liver fat was assessed by liver-to-spleen (L/S) ratio measured by CT. Hyperuricemia was defined as serum uric acid level >7.0 mg/dl. Its association with adiposity was tested using logistic regression.Results. The prevalence of hyperuricemia was 19.6% (157 men). Both greater IAFA and lower L/S ratio were independently associated with hyperuricemia in models that simultaneously included IAFA and L/S ratio: multiple-adjusted odds ratios of hyperuricemia for quintiles 3, 4, and 5 of IAFA were 2.16 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.02-4.59), 2.41 (95% CI 1.13-5.16), and 4.00 (95% CI 1.81-8.85), respectively, compared to quintile 1, and the L/S ratios for quintiles 3, 2, and 1 were 2.34 (95% CI 1.16-4.75), 2.15 (95% CI 1.06-4.34), and 2.79 (95% CI 1.35-5.76), respectively, compared to quintile 5. Both IAFA and L/S ratio remained significant even after adjusting for abdominal subcutaneous fat area, TFA, TSFA, body mass index, or waist circumference. Of all fat measurements, IAFA had the strongest association with hyperuricemia by Akaike's information criteria. Conclusion. Greater amounts of both visceral fat and liver fat were independently associated with hyperuricemia.

No abstract

Background/Aims: The association between alcohol consumption and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been reported. What is not known is whether drinking pattern combined with the weekly frequency of alcohol consumption and the quantity per drinking day is associated with the risk of CKD. Methods: We enrolled 9,112 Japanese nondiabetic men aged 40 to 55 years with absence of proteinuria, an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 60 ml/min/1.73 m² or higher, and not on antihypertensive medications at baseline. CKD was defined if eGFR was <60 ml/min/1.73 m². The weekly frequency classification was nondrinkers, 1-3 drinking days/week, or 4-7 drinking days/week. The quantity consumed per drinking day was classified as 0.1-23.0 g ethanol/drinking day, 23.1-46.0 g ethanol/drinking day, 46.1-69.0 g ethanol/drinking day, and ≥69.1 g ethanol/drinking day. Results: During the 79,099 person-years, 1,253 subjects developed CKD. Compared to nondrinkers, those who consumed 23.1-46.0 or 46.1-69.0 g ethanol/drinking day on 4-7 drinking days/week had a decreased risk of CKD (multiple-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.62 (0.52-0.74) and 0.76 (0.59-0.97), respectively). The association between the quantity per drinking day and the incidence of CKD was U-shaped among each category of the weekly frequency. HRs within similar categories of quantity per drinking day were lower in the 4-7 drinking days/week group than in the 1-3 drinking days/week group. Conclusion: Among middle-aged Japanese men, the people who drank middle-range quantity, specifically who drank 4-7 days/week, had lower risk of CKD than nondrinkers.

BackgroundModerate alcohol consumption has been reported to be associated with a decreased risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Whether drinking pattern is associated with the risk of proteinuria is unknown.MethodsStudy subjects were 9154 non-diabetic Japanese men aged 40–55 years, with an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2, no proteinuria, and no use of antihypertensive medications at entry. Data on alcohol consumption were obtained by questionnaire. We defined “consecutive proteinuria” as proteinuria detected twice consecutively as 1+ or higher on urine dipstick at annual examinations.ResultsDuring the 81 147 person-years follow-up period, 385 subjects developed consecutive proteinuria. For subjects who reported drinking 4–7 days per week, alcohol consumption of 0.1–23.0 g ethanol/drinking day was significantly associated with a decreased risk of consecutive proteinuria (hazard ratio [HR] 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36–0.80) compared with non-drinkers. However, alcohol consumption of ≥69.1 g ethanol/drinking day was significantly associated with an increased risk of consecutive proteinuria (HR 1.78; 95% CI, 1.01–3.14). For subjects who reported drinking 1–3 days per week, alcohol consumption of 0.1–23.0 g ethanol/drinking day was associated with a decreased risk of consecutive proteinuria (HR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.51–1.12), and alcohol consumption of ≥69.1 g ethanol/drinking day was associated with an increased risk of consecutive proteinuria (HR 1.58; 95% CI, 0.72–3.46), but these associations did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionsMen with frequent alcohol consumption of 0.1–23.0 g ethanol/drinking day had the lowest risk of consecutive proteinuria, while those with frequent alcohol consumption of ≥69.1 g ethanol/drinking day had an increased risk of consecutive proteinuria.

BackgroundMetabolically healthy obesity seems to be a unique phenotype for the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. However, it is not known whether this phenotype is associated with the risk of proteinuria.MethodsStudy subjects were 9,185 non-diabetic Japanese male workers aged 40–55 years who had no proteinuria, an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2, no history of cancer, and no use of antihypertensive or lipid-lowering medications at baseline. Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m2. Metabolic health was defined as the presence of no Adult Treatment Panel III components of the metabolic syndrome criteria, excluding waist circumference, and metabolic unhealth was defined as the presence of one or more metabolic syndrome components, excluding waist circumference. “Consecutive proteinuria” was considered positive if proteinuria was detected twice consecutively as 1+ or higher on urine dipstick at annual examinations to exclude chance proteinuria as much as possible.ResultsDuring the 81,660 person-years follow-up period, we confirmed 390 cases of consecutive proteinuria. Compared with metabolically healthy non-obesity, metabolically healthy obesity was not associated with the risk of consecutive proteinuria (multiple-adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37–1.99), but metabolically unhealthy non-obesity with ≥2 metabolic syndrome components (HR 1.77; 95% CI, 1.30–2.42), metabolically unhealthy obesity with one component (HR 1.71; 95% CI, 1.12–2.61), and metabolically unhealthy obesity with ≥2 metabolic syndrome components (HR 2.77; 95% CI, 2.01–3.82) were associated with an increased risk of consecutive proteinuria.ConclusionsMetabolically healthy obesity did not increase the risk of consecutive proteinuria in Japanese middle-aged men.