The Relation of Moderate Alcohol Consumption to Hyperuricemia in a Rural General Population

Abstract

Background: although alcohol abuse is known to increase serum uric acid, the relation between moderate drinking and uric acid have remained poorly understood. We performed this study to evaluate whether different alcohol consumption level has different effects on the risk of hyperuricemia based on a rural general population. Method: multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select a representative sample of individuals aged 35 years or older. Participants were asked to provide information about their alcohol consumption. Data regarding the demographic and lifestyle characteristics and the blood biochemical indexes of these participants were collected by well-trained personnel. Results: in total, 11,039 participants aged 35 years or older were included (4997 men and 6042 women). The prevalence of hyperuricemia in the different male alcohol consumption groups was 11.9% in non-drinkers, 12.6% in moderate drinkers, and 16.3% in heavy drinkers (p < 0.001). In females, the rates were 6.3% in non-drinkers, 8.1% in moderate drinkers, and 6.6% for heavy drinkers (p = 0.818). In males, multivariate logistic regression analyses shows heavy drinkers had an approximately 1.7-fold higher risk of hyperuricemia (OR: 1.657, 95% CI: 1.368 to 2.007, p < 0.001) than non-drinkers; moderate drinkers did not experience a significant increase in risk (OR: 1.232, 95% CI: 0.951 to 1.596, p = 0.114)). Multivariate logistic regression analyses of females showed that, compared with non-drinkers, neither moderate nor heavy drinkers had a significantly increased risk of hyperuricemia (OR: 1.565, 95% CI: 0.521 to 4.695, p = 0.425 for heavy drinkers; OR: 0.897, 95% CI: 0.117 to 6.855, p = 0.916 for moderate drinkers). Conclusions: heavy alcohol consumption increased the risk of hyperuricemia for males but not for females. Among both males and females, moderate alcohol consumption did not increase the risk of hyperuricemia.

Association of hyperuricemia and gamma glutamyl transferase as a marker of metabolic risk in alcohol use disorder

“…The kidney is a key regulator of circulating uric acid levels by reabsorbing 90% of filtered urate and results from this large case-series indicates that one in eight patients with AUD had hyperuricemia. In addition, prevalence would reach 14% if we had included patients who were treated with uricosuric agents or diuretics upon admission; such similar prevalence of hyperuricemia has been reported in individuals with heavy alcohol consumption 19,25 . More important, our data indicates a strong dose-response relationship between serum GGT and SUA levels after adjusting for potential confounders (i.e., increased GGT serum levels independently contributed to increases in SUA levels) and this finding may have implications in clinical practice and public health interventions.…”

“…It should be noted that the majority of studies on SUA and alcohol consumption have focused on hospitalized patients with acute, concurrent illness (i.e. bacterial pneumonia) or in the general population 4,15,[17][18][19] . However, few studies have taken into account the role of GFR and impaired renal function in SUA levels which may affect prevalence and associations of hyperuricemia.…”

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“…A recent study showed that prevalence of hyperuricemia increases proportionally with alcohol consumption in the male drinkers with an approximately 1.7-fold higher risk of hyperuricemia in heavy drinkers as compared with non-drinkers. 5 Interestingly prevalence rates did not differ much among drinkers and non drinkers in the female population. NHANES III revealed that uric acid levels increased with beer or liquor intake but not with wine, with maximal increase noted with beer consumption.…”

Joint Clinical Consensus Statement of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons® and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners®: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment Consensus for Gouty Arthritis of the Foot and Ankle

“…The effect from alcohol on gout flare is short and occurs within 24 hours after alcohol consumption in most cases (14,15). The prevalence of hyperuricemia secondary to alcohol consumption is noted to be higher among males than females (16). This difference among women and men is partially attributed to the effect of estrogen in increasing renal uric acid clearance (17).…”