A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study of Patients With Plantar Fasciitis: Is Hyperuricemia Screening Needed?

Abstract

Background and aim Generally, asymptomatic hyperuricemia is considered a benign metabolic abnormality with little clinical significance in the absence of gout or renal calculus. However, its clinical association with plantar fasciitis is still not known and is a subject of interest. The study aims to investigate the association between asymptomatic hyperuricemia and plantar fasciitis in otherwise healthy patients. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was performed, which included 284 patients aged 21-65 years with plantar fasciitis and without any comorbidities between February 2020 and November 2022. One hundred and fifty patients with hyperuricemia who attended the endocrinology and medicine outpatient department without heel pain were included as a control group. Serum uric acid levels were assessed in all cases. Student's t-test, correlation tests, and multiple linear regression were used to ascertain the association between uric acid levels and plantar fasciitis. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 19.0 (Released 2010; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Results Among the 284 patients, 189 were female (66.5%) and 95 were male (33.4%). Their mean age was 43 ± 9 years (range: 21-65 years). The p-values of the duration of symptoms, visual analog scale for pain (VAS), and foot function index (FFI) total score were p = 0.061, p = 0.068, and p < 0.001, respectively. The mean uric acid levels were 7.6 ± 1.5 mg/dL in males and 7.3 ± 1.3 mg/dL in females in the sample group, and 8.3 ± 1.8 mg/dL in males and 8.1 ± 1.5 mg/dL in females in the control group. According to a Pearson correlation analysis, there was no correlation between serum uric acid level and BMI, VAS, duration of symptoms, FFI pain, disability sub-scores, or FFI total score. Conclusion Although asymptomatic hyperuricemia is a common metabolic abnormality, the present study did not find any significant association between it and plantar fasciitis. Therefore, we can conclude that routine screening for asymptomatic hyperuricemia is not recommended in plantar fasciitis. Evidence level: II.