Metabolic risks of hyperuricemia

Abstract

Hyperuricemia (HU), traditionally considered as an important risk factor and therapeutic target for patients with gout, currently draws attention of many researchers from the perspective of its contribution to the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome and metabolic syndrome-associated diseases. The study aimed to determine the frequency of detection of HU and its conjugation with burden of metabolic comorbidities in outpatients. HU was detected in 253 (27.1%) of 933 people referred to the determination of the uric acid (UA) level. The investigators took into account the presence of established diagnosis of gout, cardiovascular system diseases associated with metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and urolithiasis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The study showed that patients with HU had four times higher metabolic comorbidity level than individuals with normal UA levels. Not only gout (6.25 times), but also urolithiasis with CKD (2.2 times) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) (1.9 times) were more common in people with elevated UA levels. Among patients with HU, women were 2.2 times more likely to have type 2 diabetes than men. Patients with type 2 diabetes and CVD, especially women, need to correct HU to reduce the risk of progression of metabolic disorders. The article presents a brief overview of modern drugs for the management of GU.

Keywords

• hyperuricemia
• gout
• metabolic syndrome-associated cardiovascular diseases
• diabetes mellitus
• allopurinol
• febuxostat