Elevated Soluble Suppressor of Tumorigenicity 2 Levels in Gout Patients and Its Association with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Indicators.

PURPOSE

To investigate the association between soluble suppressor of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) levels and cardiovascular disease predictors in patients with gout.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with gout who were tested for sST2 but did not receive uric acid-lowering therapy. These patients were classified into elevated and normal sST2 groups using a cut-off of >49.6 ng/mL and >35.4 ng/mL in males and females, respectively. Correlations between clinical and laboratory variables, sST2 levels, and elevated sST2 level predictors were assessed using linear and logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Notably, 27 (11.3%) and 211 (88.7%) of the 238 identified patients had elevated and normal sST2 levels, respectively. Linear regression analysis revealed that male sex (β=-0.190, =0.002), body mass index (BMI) (β=-0.184, =0.002), white blood cell count (β=0.231, <0.001), C-reactive protein (β=0.135, =0.031), and fasting blood glucose (β=0.210, <0.001) were independently associated with sST2 levels. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, male sex [odds ratio (OR) 0.112, =0.001], BMI (OR 0.836, =0.008), creatinine (OR 5.730, =0.024), and fasting blood glucose (OR 1.042, =0.002) predicted elevated sST2 levels. Patients with increased sST2 levels had a significantly higher atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score and a greater proportion of high-risk Framingham Risk Score compared to the normal sST2 group (=0.002 and <0.001).

CONCLUSION

Patients with gout and elevated sST2 levels have a higher risk of future cardiovascular disorders, which may provide insights into risk stratification and the implementation of intervention strategies.