Hyperuricemia: An Intriguing Connection to Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes, Kidney Disease, and Hypertension

Our review explores the epidemiology, physiology, and clinical data surrounding the connection between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension.

Compelling physiologic mechanisms have been proposed to explain a causal relationship between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension but clinical studies have given mixed results in terms of whether intervening with hyperuricemia using urate-lowering therapy has any beneficial effects for patients with these conditions. Despite the large amount of research already put into this topic, more randomized placebo-controlled trials are needed to more firmly establish whether a cause-effect relationship exists and whether lowering uric acid levels in patients with these conditions is beneficial.