Association Between Serum Uric Acid and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Study in Chinese Women

The study aims to explore the relationship between serum uric acid (UA) levels in the first trimester and pregnancy outcomes.

The clinical data of 1381 pregnant women who delivered in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital from June 2021 to July 2022 were collected. All patients were categorized into four groups (Q1-Q4) according to quartiles of UA, using the first quartile of UA as the reference group. Logistic regression analysis was used to observe the correlation between UA and pregnancy outcomes. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was drawn to observe the dose-response relationship between UA and pregnancy outcomes.

The numbers of GDM patients in Q1-Q4 were 40 (11.70%), 46 (13.49%), 60 (17.29%) and 83 (23.65%), respectively (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that higher quartiles of UA were significantly associated with an increased prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). After adjusting for confounding factors (maternal age, prepregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and gestational age), compared with the lowest quartile of UA, the highest quartile of UA had 2.06 times odds of GDM (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.34, 3.18; p = 0.001) in Q4. RCS suggested that the risk of GDM increased slowly until UA levels reached 219.43 µmol/L and then began to increase rapidly afterward (overall p = 0.0037).

Increased uric acid concentrations in the first trimester are associated with an increased risk of GDM and gestational hypertension.