PHILADELPHIA — Weight loss was linked to significant drops in serum uric acid levels in a prospective study of 12,510 men with high cardiovascular risk.
“Weight loss could substantially help achieve a widely accepted therapeutic uric acid target level of 6 mg/dL among men with a high cardiovascular risk profile,” Yanyan Zhu said at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
Ms. Zhu and her associates used data from men with a high cardiovascular risk profile enrolled in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention trial, a study begun in the early 1970s. The trial assessed the role of multiple risk-factor interventions, including a special diet, on mortality from coronary heart disease.
The men were aged 35-57 years at baseline (mean age 46 years). Their average body mass index was 28 kg/m
The men returned annually for clinical assessments for 6 years. During follow-up, 39% had weight loss, 31% had no weight change, and 30% gained weight.
In an analysis adjusted for baseline covariables of hypertension, diuretic use, alcohol use, and serum creatinine, men who lost weight during follow-up had a statistically significant reduction in their risk for having hyperuricemia, said Ms. Zhu, an epidemiologist at Boston University. Men who gained weight during follow-up had a significant increased risk for hyperuricemia (see table).
A second analysis showed similar, significant relationships between changes in weight and changes in the serum level of uric acid. The more weight patients lost the lower their uric acid levels fell. The more weight they gained the higher their levels rose (see table).
Ms. Zhu and her associates hypothesized that the impact of weight change on serum uric acid occurred through changes in uric acid production and renal excretion. For example, reduced adiposity leads to lower insulin levels, which produces increased renal excretion of uric acid.
Disclosures: Ms. Zhu said she had no conflicts of interest. Some of her associates had financial ties to Takeda, which markets a drug for lowering uric acid levels. One associate served on an advisory board for Savient, which is developing a uric acid lowering drug, and another formerly held stock in Savient.
Men who lost weight had a statistically significant reduction in their risk for having hyperuricemia.
Source MS. ZHU
Elsevier Global Medical News