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Hyperuricemia is independently associated with endothelial dysfunction in postmenopausal women but not in
Tatsuya Maruhashi1, Ayumu Nakashima, Junko Soga
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Insights
High uric acid levels are linked to endothelial dysfunction in women, especially postmenopausal individuals. This suggests uric acid can serve as a valuable risk marker for cardiovascular health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Health
- Endocrinology
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Endothelial dysfunction is a key factor in cardiovascular disease development.
- Uric acid's role in cardiovascular risk is debated, particularly concerning its relationship with endothelial function.
- Menopausal status may influence the association between uric acid and vascular health in women.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between serum uric acid levels and endothelial function in Japanese women.
- To identify cardiovascular risk factors associated with uric acid levels.
- To investigate if menopausal status modifies the link between uric acid and endothelial function.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving 749 Japanese women aged 30-74 years.
- Serum uric acid levels and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) were measured.
- Endothelial dysfunction was defined as FMD ≤4.90%; menopausal status was categorized.
Main Results:
- Serum uric acid levels correlated significantly with age, BMI, blood pressure, lipids, glucose, eGFR, and Framingham risk score.
- Flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) decreased progressively with increasing uric acid levels (p=0.01).
- Uric acid was an independent risk factor for endothelial dysfunction in postmenopausal women (OR 1.23) but not in premenopausal women.
Conclusions:
- Serum uric acid is a potential risk marker for endothelial dysfunction in women.
- Uric acid is an independent risk factor for endothelial dysfunction specifically in postmenopausal women.
- These findings highlight the importance of considering menopausal status when evaluating uric acid's cardiovascular risk.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between uric acid, endothelial function and cardiovascular risk factors and to investigate whether menopausal status was associated with the relationship between uric acid and endothelial function in women.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
3 general hospitals in Japan.
Participants:
749 Japanese women aged 30-74 years recruited from people who underwent health-screening examinations with agreement for measurement of vascular function.
Measures:
We measured serum concentrations of uric acid and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Percentage of FMD (peak diameter-baseline diameter/baseline diameter) was used for analysis. Endothelial dysfunction was defined as FMD ≤4.90%, division point for the lowest tertile and the middle tertile of FMD. Menopause women were defined as participants without menstruation for over 1 year or participants with a history of hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy.
Results:
Of the 749 participants, 368 (49.1%) were premenopausal women and 381 (50.9%) were postmenopausal women. Age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, estimated glomerular filtration rate and Framingham risk score were significantly correlated with serum uric acid level. FMD showed a gradual decrease in accordance with the serum uric acid level in the entire study population (<4 mg/dL, 6.85±3.65%; 4 to <5 mg/dL, 6.79±3.60%; 5 to <6 mg/dL, 6.24±3.58%; ≥6 mg/dL, 5.27±3.18%; p=0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that uric acid was a significantly independent risk factor for endothelial dysfunction in postmenopausal women (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.50), but not in premenopausal women.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that uric acid can be used as a risk marker of endothelial dysfunction in a female population, and particularly as an independent risk factor in postmenopausal women but not in premenopausal women.
Registration Number Of The Study:
UMIN000003409.
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