The association between serum uric acid levels, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in middle aged and elderly Chinese: results from the DYSlipidemia International Study

BACKGROUND To explore the association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients treated with lipid-lowering agents from multiple centers in China. METHOD We investigated 15,478 participants who had been documented with recorded SUA in the DYSlipidemia International Study which included 25,697 patients, aged 45 years old or older, who were treated with lipid-lowering agents from 122 centers between April 2012 and October 2012. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between SUA levels, MetS and CVD. RESULT After adjusting for multi-variables, hyperuricemia (the highest category of SUA level) showed a significantly higher risk of MetS compared to the lowest category[according to NCEP-ATPIII criteria, odds ratio (OR) 1.51, 95 % confidence interval (CI) (1.30,1.74) in men, OR 2.35 95 % CI (2.00,2.75) in women; and according to IDF criteria, OR 1.40 95 % CI (1.20,1.63) in men, OR 1.65 95 % CI (1.41,1.94) in women]. In addition, elevated SUA concentration was shown to be associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) (OR 1.26 95 % CI (1.09, 1.45) in men, and OR 1.27, 95 % CI (1.07, 1.50) in women) and heart failure (HF) (OR 1.61 95 % CI (1.15, 2.24) in men, and OR 1.91, 95 % CI (1.29, 2.82) in women). CONCLUSION Our research suggested a positive association between SUA levels and MetS in Chinese patients receiving lipid-lowering therapy. Elevated SU levels were positively associated independently of measured confounders to CHD and HF.