Association of added sugar intake and its forms with hyperuricemia in general adults: the TCLSIH cohort study

Added sugars are now acknowledged as a risk factor for obesity, insulin resistance, and purine degradation pathways. However, there has been limited evidence on the association between added sugars and hyperuricemia. Therefore, we designed a cohort study to examine whether added sugar intake increased the risk of hyperuricemia in Chinese adults.

This prospective cohort study investigated 19,745 participants (mean age: 39.5 years; 9,837 [49.8%] males) who were free of hyperuricemia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline. Added sugar intake was estimated from a validated 100-item self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Hyperuricemia was defined as serum uric acid levels ≥ 7.0 mg/dL in males and ≥ 6 mg/dL in females. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the association between added sugar intake and the risk of hyperuricemia.

During a median follow-up of 4.2 years, a total of 4,246 first incident cases of hyperuricemia occurred. After adjusting for various potential confounders, the multivariable hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the risk of hyperuricemia in the highest quartile of total, liquid, and solid sugar intake compared with the lowest quartile were 1.29 (1.17, 1.42), 1.32 (1.21, 1.45), and 1.11 (1.01, 1.22), respectively.

This population-based prospective cohort study firstly demonstrated that increased added sugar intake was associated with the risk of hyperuricemia in Chinese adults.