Associations of carotid atherosclerosis and hyperuricemia with height in relation to drinking status of rural Japanese men: The Nagasaki Islands study.

Abstract

Background; Several studies have identified a positive, independent association between uric acid and atherosclerosis whereas uric acid was once considered to be a major antioxidant in human plasma with possible beneficial anti-atherosclerotic effects. Several other studies have found an inverse association between height and stroke, while a previous study of ours detected a positive association between height and hyperuricemia. However, even though uric acid levels may be strongly affected by alcohol consumption and serum creatinine, no published study has examined the possible associations between hyperuricemia and carotid atherosclerosis while taking both height and drinking status into account. 　Methods; We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1,337 men aged 30-89 years undergoing a general health check-up to investigate the associations of hyperuricemia and carotid atherosclerosis with height in relation to drinking status. 　Results; Of the total study population, 312 men were diagnosed with carotid atherosclerosis (carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) ≥ 1.1 mm) and 365 men with hyperuricemia (serum uric acid > 7.0mg/dL). For shorter non-drinkers, a significantly positive association between these two abnormalities was detected, which was independent of classical cardiovascular risk factors except for serum creatinine. However, this association ceased to exist after further adjustment for serum creatinine. However, while the age-adjusted model showed no significant association for taller drinkers, adjustment for serum creatinine produced a significantly inverse association. 　Conclusion;Our study established that hyperuricemia is associated with carotid atherosclerosis for Japanese men, while body height, drinking status and serum creatinine are important determining factors for this association.