Urate Levels as a Predictor of the Prevalence and Level of Cardiovascular Risk Factors: An Identificación de La PoBlación Española de Riesgo Cardiovascular y Renal Study

Abstract

(1) Background: Urate levels lower than the classical cut-off point for defining hyperuricemia can increase cardiovascular risks. The aim of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between different urate levels and classic cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs). (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study of the inclusion visits of the patients recruited to the IBERICAN study was conducted. The patients were classified into quartiles according to their distribution of urate levels and separated by sex; the three lower points corresponded to normal levels of urate, and the highest quartile was determined according to the classical definition of HU. Multivariate analysis models, adjusted for epidemiological variables, were used to analyze the association of urate levels with CVRFs. (3) Results: The presence of CVRFs was higher across the quartiles of urate, with a continuous increase along the quartiles in both sexes in accordance with body mass index (p < 0.01), waist circumference (p < 0.01), blood pressure (p < 0.01), and LDL cholesterol (p < 0.01). The CV risk estimated by SCORE was associated with an increase along the quartiles in women (p = 0.02). (4) Conclusions: A progressive increase in the frequency of CVRFs, as well as in their levels, was observed across the quartiles of uricemia, which reflects an increase in the CVRs associated with uricemia.