Association of Metabolic Syndrome With Serum Uric Acid Level in Male Workers

Abstract

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a type of the inflammatory diseases that is a known risk factor for many conditions, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Preventing or managing of MetS involves biomarkers for early identification or predicting the risk of developing the condition. The association between serum uric acid (SUA) and MetS in a large population of Korean male workers was investigated.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 9,191 male workers who comprised 6,626 daytime workers (DW) and 2,565 shift workers (SW) aged 20 - 58 years who had undergone regular health check-up in 2021. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), white blood cell count (WBC), biochemical parameters including SUA, liver enzymes, lipid profile and serum creatinine (Cr) were measured and participants responded to a questionnaire on health-related behavior. Participants were placed in quartiles based on their SUA levels. Associations between SUA and the prevalence of MetS or metabolic components (MS) were explored using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results: The overall prevalence of MetS was 24.6%, and the prevalence of MetS in DW was significantly higher than in SW (25.8% vs. 21.7%, P = 0.001). The prevalence of MetS, number of MS, and number of SW were positively correlated with SUA levels, as were all other variables except age, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and prevalence of DM, which were negatively correlated with SUA levels. After adjusting for multiple potential confounders, the odds ratio (OR) for MetS of the highest SUA quartile compared to the reference was 1.86 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.60 - 2.15); however, after adjusting for BMI, it was 1.32 (95% CI: 1.12 - 1.54). The SUA level was also associated with high BP, high fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hypertriglyceridemia after full adjustment. Notably, hypertriglyceridemia was also associated with a high-normal SUA level.

Conclusions: SUA levels may be independent predictors of MetS in Korean male workers. Hypertriglyceridemia is closely associated with SUA levels.

J Endocrinol Metab. 2024;14(1):21-32
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jem927