Association of metabolic syndrome and its components with hyperuricemia in a Mediterranean population

Several studies have found an association between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome (MS), although there are discrepancies as to which MS components play a pivotal role in this association. We aimed to investigate the association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and MS in a Mediterranean population (eastern Spain). We performed a case-control study of 71 patients with MS and 122 healthy controls. MS was defined according to the revised National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III modified criteria. Hyperuricemia was defined as SUA levels >6.55 mg/dL. We determined biochemical, lipidic and inflammatory parameters along with uric acid. Patients with MS showed a higher risk of hyperuricemia than those without MS (OR: 2.87 95% CI: 1.48- 5.55; p = 0.002). In turn, the unadjusted logistic regression analysis showed that hyperuricemia is associated with a higher risk of presenting all the MS components, except hypertension; i.e., hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-cholesterol, abdominal obesity and glucose intolerance were predictors for hyperuricemia (OR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.61- 6.15, p = 0.001; OR: 4.07, 95% CI: 1.77- 9.33, p = 0.001; OR: 2.81, 95% CI: 1.41- 5.58, p = 0.003 and OR: 2.82, 95% CI: 1.46- 5.45, p = 0.002 respectively). The adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that only low HDL-cholesterol and glucose intolerance were independent predictors for hyperuricemia (OR: 2.71, 95% CI 1.06- 6.97, p = 0.038; OR: 2.14, 95% CI 1.01- 4.56, p = 0.049, respectively). In our geographical area, the patients with MS showed a nearly 3-fold risk of hyperuricemia than those without. Among all the MS components, low-HDL-cholesterol and high glucose independently increased more than twice the risk of hyperuricemia, and are the pivotal components involved in hyperuricemia.