Close correlation between visceral fat accumulation and uric acid metabolism in healthy men

We evaluated the effect of accumulation of intraabdominal visceral fat on the metabolism of uric acid in 50 healthy male subjects to elucidate any relationship between such obesity and hyperuricemia. The area of abdominal fat (visceral fat and subcutaneous fat) was measured at the level of the umbilicus by abdominal computed tomographic scanning. Serum and urinary concentrations of uric acid and creatinine were determined with an autoanalyzer. Uric acid clearance and the ratio of urinary uric acid to creatinine excreted in urine were calculated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between uric acid metabolism and body fat. The size of the area of visceral fat was significantly correlated with the serum concentration of uric acid (r = .37, P < .01), uric acid clearance (r = -.34, P < .05), and the urinary uric acid to creatinine ratio (r = .65, P < .0001). The size of the area of subcutaneous fat was significantly correlated only with the urinary uric acid to creatinine ratio (r = .38, P < .01). Multivariate analyses, including body mass index (BMI), showed that the size of the visceral fat area was the strongest contributor to an elevated serum concentration of uric acid, a decrease in uric acid clearance, and an increase in the urinary uric acid to creatinine ratio. These results suggest that accumulation of visceral fat may have a greater adverse effect on the metabolism of uric acid than BMI or accumulation of subcutaneous fat. Clearly, patients with hyperuricemia should lose weight to reduce excessive visceral fat stores, to help avoid attacks of gout.