Association between serum uric acid and other cardiovascular risk factors in the male working class in Valencia

Background. Serum uric acid has been reported to be a risk factor for cardi ovascular disease (CVD). The objective of the present work was to determine the prevalence of hyperuricemia in a large size sample of a healthy male p opulation, as well as the association between uric acid and other cardiovas cular risk factors. Patients and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a randomly s elected sample of 1,564 healthy men fire Valencia (Spain), aged 20-67 years , working in the automobile industry. Serum values of uric acid, cholestero l, and glucose were obtained, as well as blood pressure and body mass index measurements. fin assessment was made of socio-economic data, drug therapy , and smoking. Results. The overall prevalence of hyperuricemia was 5.10%; it increased wi th age. A marked increase (p < 0.01) of hyperuricemic individuals was obser ved with increased prevalence of other cardiovascular risk factors (from 1. 8% with hyperuricemia alone up to 28% among individuals with four simultane ous risk factors). By means of a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the OR of hyperuricemia associated with each factor were calculated: incre ased serum glucose was the variable with a stronger association (OR: 2.69; 95%CI: 1.21-5.99), obesity ranking next (OR: 2.50; 95%CI: 1.42-4.49). Stati stically significant associations were also observed for increased serum ch olesterol, increased blood pressure, and smoking. Conclusions. The prevalence of hyperuricemia varies with the simultaneous p resence of other classical cardiovascular risk factors. Even in this health y mediterranean population, uric acid is significantly associated with seve ral components in the plurimetabolyc syndrome.