Association of serum uric acid with body mass index among long-lived Chinese.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the individual association between BMI and level of serum uric acid (SUA) among the very elderly Chinese population.

METHODS

A survey was conducted on 870 long-lived subjects (aged ≥90years). Subjects were divided into four groups according to quartile of BMI (<16.6, 16.6-18.9, 18.9-21.1, ≥21.1kg/m(2)) and to classification criteria of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity in BMI (<18.5, 18.5-23.0, 23.0-27.5, ≥27.5kg/m(2), respectively). Subjects were also divided into hyperuricemia and normal SUA groups.

RESULTS

The sample included 661 unrelated Chinese. The mean age was 93.52±3.29years (range 90-108years). The mean level of BMI was 19.16±3.47kg/m(2) and mean SUA was 318.72±87.01. Compared to individuals without hyperuricemia, high level of SUA was associated with a higher level of BMI in both genders (p<0.001). According to the both BMI classification criteria, the group with higher BMI had higher level of SUA (p<0.001). Pearson correlation showed that SUA was significantly correlated with BMI (with coefficients r=0.235, 0.140, in men and women, respectively). Unadjusted and adjusted multiple logistic regressions showed that odds ratios for hyperuricemia were associated with BMI according to quartile of BMI.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that among long-lived Chinese subjects, higher levels of SUA may be associated with higher BMI.