Objective-To examine the association of serum uric acid (SUA) with a marker of preclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD), carotid atherosclerotic plaques (PLQ), where early evidence of risk may be evident, focusing on individuals without CV risk factors.Methods-The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study is a multicenter study designed to assess risk factors for heart disease. PLQ were assessed with carotid ultrasound. We conducted sex-specific logistic regression to assess the association of SUA with presence of PLQ, including analyses among persons without risk factors related to both CVD and hyperuricemia.Results-In total, 4866 participants had both SUA and carotid ultrasound assessed (54% women, mean age 52 yrs, mean body mass index 27.6). The association of SUA with PLQ increased with increasing SUA levels, demonstrating a dose-response relation for men [OR 1.0, 1.29, 1.61, 1.75, for SUA categories < 5 (reference), 5 to < 6, 6 to < 6.8, ≥ 6.8 mg/dl, respectively; p = 0.002]. Similar associations were found in men without CV risk factors. We found no relation of SUA with PLQ in women. Studies examining the relation of hyperuricemia with cardiovascular disease (CVD) have had conflicting results. While many have found an independent association of higher serum uric acid (SUA) concentrations with increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes 1-7 , others have not [8][9][10] . Biological mechanisms linking hyperuricemia to CVD risk exist, but direct effects of uric acid on the vasculature remain controversial 11,12 . Moreover, some have argued that the positive association between SUA and CVD may be due to the concurrent cardiovascular comorbidities seen in many persons with hyperuricemia, including diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity [13][14][15] .
Conclusion-In
NIH Public AccessClarifying the relation of SUA to CVD risk has clinical implications and public health importance. First, there has been a secular increase in the incidence and prevalence of gout and hyperuricemia 16,17 . Second, asymptomatic hyperuricemia is presently not an indication for urate-lowering therapy. If hyperuricemia is indeed an independent risk factor for CVD, it might motivate a change in traditional treatment recommendations. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] . Such conflicting results may in part be related to differences in analytic approaches and/or effectiveness of controlling for potential confounding.Further, prior studies have not examined SUA's effects in individuals who are free from comorbidities, which themselves can both increase SUA and increase risk for preclinical CVD. If SUA were associated with preclinical CVD in persons without any such comorbidities, it would constitute stronger evidence for SUA's association with CVD than has been presented in previous studies.We evaluated the association of SUA with carotid plaques in a large multicenter study, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Family Heart Study, and further assessed these associations for the modifyi...