Association Between Serum Uric Acid and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Different Fasting Blood Glucose Patterns: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Our objective was to analyze the correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and explore the relationship between SUA and carotid atherosclerosis in different glucose metabolism patterns. A total of 614 patients were enrolled in this case-control study, including 406 in the normouricemia group and 208 in the hyperuricemia group. The two groups were each divided into three groups according to fasting blood glucose (FBG) level: normal, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), and diabetes mellitus (DM). CIMT and the CIMT thickening rate in the hyperuricemia group were significantly higher than those in the normouricemia group: 0.17 (0.11–0.24) cm vs. 0.12 (0.08–0.15) cm and 73.56% vs. 51.97% (p < 0.001). Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, FBG, triglyceride, SUA, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen were positively correlated with CIMT, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol were negatively correlated with CIMT. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, SUA, FBG, and SBP were independent factors that affected CIMT. Furthermore, age and SBP were independent factors in the normouricemia group, and FBG was an independent factor that affected CIMT in the hyperuricemia group (p < 0.05). In the hyperuricemia group, CIMT in the DM group was significantly higher than that in the normal group [0.20 (0.14–0.25)cm vs. 0.15 (0.1–0.25); p < 0.05], and the CIMT thickening rate in the DM group was significantly higher than those in the IFG and normal groups (90.38% vs. 78.38%, 90.38% vs. 65.81%; p < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that uric acid combined with age, SBP, and FBG had the highest area under the curve (AUC) for predicting CIMT thickening [0.855 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.804–0.906)], followed by uric acid combined with FBG [AUC: 0.767 (95% CI: 0.726–0.808)]. In conclusion, SUA was closely associated with an increase in CIMT in patients with specific FBG metabolic patterns and may be an independent risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis. SUA, especially in combination with other factors (such as age, SBP, FBG), may serve as a specific model to help predict the incidence of CIMT thickening. Clinical Trial Registration:http://www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2000039124.

Construction and Validation of a Model for Predicting Impaired Fasting Glucose Based on More Than 4000 General Population

“…Only a part of studies have mentioned that IFG patients have higher UREA levels than normal glucose metabolizers. 21 , 28 Our study further confirms the important value of UREA in IFG risk prediction.…”

Dieting alleviates hyperuricemia and organ injuries in uricase-deficient rats via down-regulating cell cycle pathway

“…It has been proven that fasting elevates the level of SUA ( Gao et al, 2022a ; Miyake et al, 2014 ). As the positive relationship between obesity and hyperuricemia has been proven by epidemiologic studies ( Gong et al, 2020 ; Zhao & Zhao, 2022 ), body weight restriction has become an important and basic measure to lower SUA levels.…”

“…Fasting (the deprivation of food) is a common strategy ( Hooshiar, Yazdani & Jafarnejad, 2023 ) to control body weight, although prolonged fasting is unhealthy. Unfortunately, it has been reported ( Gao et al, 2022a ; Miyake et al, 2014 ) that with the loss of body weight, fasting increases rather than decreases SUA levels, and how to adjust the optimal amount of dietary food is a challenge that remains to be solved.…”

Association between serum uric acid levels and atrial fibrillation in different fasting glucose patterns: A case-control study

“…Hyperuricemia was diagnosed if SUA > 7.0 mg/dL in men or > 6.0 mg/dL in women ( 24 ). In addition, patients were divided into three groups according to the different FBG patterns ( 25 ): normoglycemic group (FBG < 6.1 mmol/L), impaired fasting glucose (IFG) group (6.1–7.0 mmol/L), and diabetes mellitus (DM) group (FBG ≥ 7.0 mmol/L or receiving hypoglycemic therapy).…”