Lower Serum Uric Acid Levels May Lower the Incidence of Diabetic Chronic Complications in U.S. Adults Aged 40 and Over

Abstract

Previous studies have generally reported the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and diabetic complications, but large-scale research exploring the above association in U.S. adults with diabetes is limited. To explore the association between SUA and chronic complications of diabetes among U.S. patients aged ≥40, we used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2008. SUA was divided into three levels: T1 (SUA ≥ 420 μmol/L), T2 (300 ≤ SUA < 420 μmol/L), and T3 (SUA < 300 μmol/L). Binary logistic regression and restricted cubic spline analysis were applied to evaluate the association between SUA and chronic complications of diabetes. A trend test was performed as the SUA increased substantially. After full-adjusted confounding factors, patients in the T3 group had a lower risk of diabetic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and peripheral neuropathy compared with the T1 group, with a OR (95% CIs) of 0.33 (0.21–0.52), 0.56 (0.36–0.87), and 0.49 (0.27–0.89), respectively. The restricted cubic spline showed a significant positive relationship between SUA and cardiovascular disease and diabetic kidney disease in diabetes patients, but not peripheral neuropathy. Maintaining a SUA of less than 300 μmol/L might be protective against the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetic kidney disease, and peripheral neuropathy other than diabetic retinopathy compared with a SUA of more than 420 μmol/L in U.S. diabetes patients aged 40 and over.

Keywords

• uric acid
• diabetic chronic complications
• cardiovascular disease
• diabetic kidney disease
• diabetic peripheral neuropathy
• diabetic retinopathy