Hyperuricemia and the Metabolic Syndrome in Hiv Adults

Objective: Hyperuricemia is associated with metabolic syndrome in diabetics and could be a risk factor for coronary heart disease in the general population. However, there is a dearth of information on hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome in the context of HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART). The aim of this study was to determine the association between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome in HIV-infected patients attending Opportunistic Infections Clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2015. Methods: The cross-sectional study (N=186) measured uric acid and markers of metabolic syndrome including total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and blood glucose. Demographic and anthropometric data such as: age, sex, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and duration of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were collected from participants and clinic records. Results: Of those studied, 80% were female and 20% were ART-naive. There was no difference in all biochemical and anthropometric data between ART-naïve and ART-experienced patients. Prevalence of hyperuricemia was 13% and of metabolic syndrome was 3.8%. About 1% of the population had both hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome and positive correlation was found between hyperuricemia and BMI, depressed HDL-C and hypertension. However, there was no association between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome in all the participants. Conclusion: Though there was no association between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome, significant association was found between hyperuricemia and BMI, hypertension and depressed HDL-C, respectively. Hyperuricemia may be a risk factor for coronary heart disease via obesity, depressed HDL-C and hypertension.