Both high and low uric acid levels tied to higher mortality

(HealthDay)—Both high and low uric acid levels are associated with an increased risk of dying, according to a study published in the July issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Sung Kweon Cho, M.D., Ph.D., from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues evaluated the association between uric acid levels and the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality among 375,163 Korean adults over a range of uric acid levels using national health records (2002 to 2012).

The researchers found that over the study period (2,060,721.9 person-years), 2,020 participants died, with 287 cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related deaths and 963 cancer deaths. Both low and high uric acid levels were associated with increased all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality. For all-cause mortality in the lowest uric acid categories (<3.5 mg/dL for men and <2.5 mg/dL for women) versus the sex-specific reference category, multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were 1.58 and 1.80, respectively. For the highest uric acid categories (≥9.5 mg/dL for men and ≥8.5 mg/dL for women), the corresponding hazard ratios were 2.39 and 3.77.

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