Association between serum uric acid and the Adult Treatment Panel III-defined metabolic syndrome : Results from a single hospital database

Hyperuricemia is known to be associated with various metabolic abnormalities of the metabolic syndrome, but its precise contribution is not well defined. We have investigated the effects of serum uric acid on the metabolic syndrome as defined by the Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III criteria and tested its independent association. This was a cross-sectional study consisting of 1686 Korean subjects (821 men and 865 women) from a health promotion center. Clinical data and the presence of the metabolic syndrome were assessed, and serum uric acid was tested for its independent contribution to the metabolic syndrome using 2 multiple logistic regression models. The metabolic syndrome was defined by the original ATP III criteria and the modified ATP III criteria that include a reduced waist circumference. The general age-adjusted prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 4.4% in men and 6.8% in women; hyperuricemic subjects tended to have a higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and more metabolic abnormalities than normouricemic subjects. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increased as normouricemia (2.9%) progressed to hyperuricemia (8.9%) and to gout (43.6%) in men. Multivariate analysis showed that serum uric acid was a significant factor for the development of the metabolic syndrome as defined by the original ATP III criteria only in one model for women (odds ratio, 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-2.05; P = .009). Serum uric acid is closely linked to and may even be independently associated with the metabolic syndrome as defined by the ATP III criteria, but only in women.