Abstract
Background
The J-shaped association between serum uric acid (SUA) and cardiovascular risks is known. However, the bottom of the J-shaped curve has not been elucidated because of the lack of epidemiological knowledge about hypouricemia.
Purpose
To explore the SUA levels related to the most preferable cardiovascular risks using data from a Japanese general population.
Methods
Data from 246,923 individuals (111,117 men and 135,806 women) who underwent routine health checkups between January 2001 and December 2015 were analyzed. The participants were divided into quartiles according to their SUA levels, and patients with hypouricemia (SUA level <2.0 mg/dL) were subdivided into two groups according to their distributions. We compared their characteristics, including their cardiovascular risks.
Results
The prevalence of hypouricemia was 0.46% overall, 0.21% for men, and 0.66% for women (P<0.001). The subjects with hypouricemia were divided into two groups according to SUA level: a lower hypouricemia group (0.4–1.1 mg/dL, which included a peak at 0.7–0.8 mg/dL) and a higher hypouricemia group (1.4–2.0 mg/dL). The two groups exhibited significanly different characteristics in several variables: body mass index and triglyceride in men, and age, body mass index, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and renal function in women. Furthermore, several cardiovascular risk factors showed the most preferable values in subjects with SUA 1.4–2.0 mg/dL (Figure).
Conclusions
There were two independent distributions in subjects with SUA ≤2.0 mg/dL. The individuals with SUA 1.4–2.0 mg/dL exhibited the most preferable values for several cardiovascular risk factors, suggesting an association with the bottom of the J-shaped curve between SUA and cardiovascular risks.
Erratum to: U-shaped association between body mass index and proteinuria in a large Japanese general population sample