The waist circumference-adjusted associations between hyperuricemia and other lifestyle-related diseases

BACKGROUND Few studies have assessed the associations between hyperuricemia and lifestyle-related diseases after adjusting for waist circumference (WC) and sex. METHODS This cross-sectional study included 33,498 Japanese individuals, and was conducted at the Center for Preventive Medicine, NTT Kanto Medical Center, Tokyo, from May 2006 to March 2015. Hyperuricemia was defined as a uric acid level of >7 mg/dl in men; >6 mg/dl in women. Metabolic syndrome (Mets) components were defined using the Japanese criteria for Mets. The subjects were stratified into quartiles according to their WC as follows: males: <78.4, 78.4 to <83.5, 83.5 to <89, and ≥89 cm; females: <71.6, 71.6 to <77, 77 to <83.2, and ≥83.2 cm. The relationships between these quartiles and the presence of ≥2 components of Mets or hyperuricemia were then evaluated using Chi square analysis. The presence of ≥2 components of Mets were then determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, the presence of hyperuricemia, WC, and lifestyle habits. RESULTS Hyperuricemia was found to be an independent predictor of lifestyle-related diseases after adjusting for age, WC, and lifestyle in both sexes. Males: a uric acid level of >7 mg/dl (odds ratio [OR]: 1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.57-1.83), Females: a uric acid level of >6 mg/dl (OR: 2.35, 95% CI 1.83-2.99). CONCLUSION Hyperuricemia was found to be an independent predictor of several lifestyle-related diseases, even after adjusting for WC which is closely related with insulin resistance. Hyperuricemia might require greater attention during the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases and future cardiovascular disease.