Association of serum uric acid levels with emotional and affective temperaments

Abstract

Background Temperament relates to emotions and the prevailing mood or affective temperament. Uric acid (UA) is the end-product of purine metabolism and has been associated with psychological features such as high energy/drive, positive affect, achievement, good performance, higher social status and leadership. Methods 129 subjects (44 males, 85 females) completed with the Combined Emotional and Affective Temperaments Scale, serum UA levels and a general health questionnaire. Results In the whole sample, serum UA levels were significantly correlated with disinhibition ( r = 0.36, p < 0.001) and drive ( r = 0.25, p < 0.01), but not with control, anger or any of the affective temperament scores. Among males, we found correlations at trend level ( p > 0.05 and < 0.07) for control ( r = 0.27), irritable ( r = 0.29) and hyperthymic ( r = 0.27) affective temperaments. Among females, a significant correlation was found only with disinhibition ( r = 0.34, p = 0.001). The top tertile of males (serum UA > 6.0 mg/ml, n = 16) had significantly higher drive (29.9 ± 5.9 × 26.0 ± 3.6, p = 0.01) and higher control at trend level (21.2 ± 3.1 × 19.3 ± 2.9, p = 0.054) than other males. Among women, the top tertile (serum UA > 4.0 mg/ml, n = 29) showed higher disinhibition scores (20.7 ± 4.9 × 17.9 ± 3.6, p < 0.01) and more frequent choices of hyperthymic (8/26 × 6/59, p = 0.023) and irritable temperaments (7/26 × 5/59, p = 0.031) than the rest of the sample. Controlling for daily intake of meat and grains, which could lead to higher UA levels, did not change these results. Limitations Small sample size for males. Conclusions Externalized traits of temperament are associated with higher serum UA levels both in men and women.