Abstract
BackgroundA significant positive association was found in previous studies among obesity, visceral fat accumulation, and hyperuricemia. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between the ratio of visceral fat area to leg muscle mass (VFA-to-LMM) and hyperuricemia, and verify the role of gender differences in the association.MethodsA total of 3393 (43.3% are men) participants from Tianjin Union Medical Center-Health Management Center were recruited for this cross-sectional study. The VFA-to-LMM ratio was used as the independent variable. Hyperuricemia, a serum uric acid level ≥ 416 μmol/L in men and in menopausal women and ≥ 357 μmol/L in premenopausal women, was used as the dependent variable. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratio and the 95% confidence interval between the VFA-to-LMM ratio and hyperuricemia.ResultsThe overall prevalence of hyperuricemia was 14.8% (8.9% in women, and 22.5% in men). After adjustment by age, smoking status (for males), menopause status (for females), drinking status, exercise frequency, blood pressure, alanine aminotransferase, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, creatinine, and history of diseases, a strong positive association was found between the VFA-to-LMM ratio and hyperuricemia in both men (4th vs. 1st quartile 1.60, 95%CI: 1.03–2.49) and women (4th vs. 1st quartile 5.22, 95%CI: 2.44–12.56). After additional adjustment by BMI, there was still a significant positive association in women (4th vs. 1st quartile 2.57, 95%CI: 1.06–6.77). The results of subgroup analysis showed that pre-menopausal women (4th vs. 1st quartile OR: 3.61) have a higher risk of hyperuricemia than postmenopausal women (4th vs. 1st quartile OR: 1.94) with the increase of the VFA-to-LMM ratio. Besides, the interaction analysis results showed the highest risk of hyperuricemia when VFA and LMM were both in the highest quantile (OR: 11.50; 95% CI: 4.86–31.98).ConclusionThe VFA-to-LMM ratio was positively associated with the risk of hyperuricemia in women after adjustment by confounders. Pre-menopausal women have a higher risk of hyperuricemia than postmenopausal women with the increase of the VFA-to-LMM ratio. In addition, the highest risk of hyperuricemia was demonstrated when both VFA and LMM were at the highest quartile.
Highlights
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [1], the prevalence rates of hyperuricemia were 20.2% for men and 20.0% for women during 2007– 2016, and the rates did not show any decline in the decade
The visceral fat area (VFA)-to-leg muscle mass (LMM) ratio was positively associated with the risk of hyperuricemia in women after adjustment by confounders
The results showed that the VFA-to-LMM ratio was positively associated with the risk of hyperuricemia in women after adjustment by age, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, menopause status, drinking status, exercise frequency, systolic blood pressure (SBP), Diastolic blood pressure (DBP), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), Total cholesterol (TC), TG, Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), HDLC, creatinine, and history of diseases
Summary
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [1], the prevalence rates of hyperuricemia were 20.2% for men and 20.0% for women during 2007– 2016, and the rates did not show any decline in the decade. Hyperuricemia, a metabolic disease, is closely related to the inflammatory response and the disorder of glucose and lipid metabolism [4], which plays an important role in the formation of metabolic syndrome [5]. A meta-analysis based on cohort studies confirmed that hyperuricemia was associated with high cancer incidence and mortality [9]. A significant positive association was found in previous studies among obesity, visceral fat accumulation, and hyperuricemia. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between the ratio of visceral fat area to leg muscle mass (VFA-to-LMM) and hyperuricemia, and verify the role of gender differences in the association
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