The association between elevated serum uric acid level and an increased risk of renal function decline in a health checkup cohort in China

Purpose To investigate whether an elevated serum uric acid (SUA) level is an independent risk factor for rapid decline in renal function or new-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a Chinese health checkup population. Methods A cohort study of 6495 Chinese individuals who underwent health checkups with normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline was carried out from May 2011 to April 2016. Examinations included a questionnaire, physical measurements, and blood sampling. The gender-specific quartiles of blood uric acid were used to present baseline descriptive data. Rapid decline of renal function was defined as eGFR loss of > 3 mL/min/1.73 m 2 /year. New-onset CKD was defined as follow-up eGFR