Serum uric acid level as an independent component of the metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic blacks.

Abstract

No consensus has been achieved on the components included in the definition of Metabolic Syndrome (MS). Uric acid and Gamma glutamyl transpeptidase are however newer markers not included in previous studies. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of MS in Diabetes Mellitus, the correlation between hyperuricaemia and MS as well as make a case for the inclusion of serum Uric acid level as a new marker for MS. Fasting venous sample from the cubital vein of 77 females and 44 males diagnosed NIDDM patients for enzymatic determination of serum lipids, glucose and uric acid using QCA kits. The demographic records were obtained from the folders. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed using the WHO criteria. The prevalence of the new component hyperuricaemia among the study subjects was 10.7%. Thirty-eight (31.6%) of the subjects who had high blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-C and BMI > 30 kg/m2 diagnostic of MS also had hyperuricaemia as against the 29 (23.9%) subjects who hadMS only. About 23.7% of the 38 subjects who had MS and hyperuricaemia had serum uric acid values above 0.38 mmol/l recommended as the cut off value. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.301, p < 0.01) between serum uric acid level, BMI, total cholesterol, LDL-C and HDL-C/TC, among the female subjects while the male subjects showed significant correlation (p < 0.05) between their BMI and serum HDL-C level only. There was a significant difference (p < 0.001) in the CHD risk ratio between the male and the female MS subjects. The correlation between hyperuricaemia and other components of MS as demonstrated in this study may suggest a common etiological factor between the MS components as suggested in other studies. Insulin resistance has been implicated as a common denominator. Thus a further investigation in this direction would be needed.