Journal of Internal Medicine Concepts & Practice ›› 2023, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (04): 278-283.doi: 10.16138/j.1673-6087.2023.04.013

• Original article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Relationship between serum uric acid and cognitive impairment

LIN Weizhi1,2, FU Yang2, LUO Qi2, CHEN Jie2, MA Jianfang2()   

  1. 1. Department of Encephalopathy, The Third Affiliated People’s Hospital of Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 200023, China
    2. Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
  • Received:2021-05-18 Online:2023-08-30 Published:2024-01-09

Abstract:

Objective To explore the relationship between serum uric acid and cognitive impairment. Methods This was a community-based prospective study. The baseline population(2011) was enrolled from a cohort(≥50 years old) of normal people in Wuliqiao and Malu community in Shanghai. The endpoint was the cognitive function assessment results of the last follow-up (2016). Cognitive assessment was performed using mini-mental status examination(MMSE). The uric acid level of the study population was divided into four quartiles from low to high score (Q1-Q4) in both male and female. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between serum uric acid and cognitive impairment. Results A total of 312 people with an average age of (68.36±6.45) years old were enrolled, and there were 124 males (39.7%). During 5-year follow-up, the total people with cognitive impairments was 43, and the incidence rate was 13.8%. After adjusting age, gender and other related risk factors, multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that people with higher uric acid level (Q3) had higher risk of cognitive impairment than those with low uric acid level (Q1), with an odds ratio(OR) of 2.53 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91-7.02]. After age stratification (50-70 years old; 70-90 years old), no positive results were found. However, stratified by gender, it was found that men with the highest uric acid level(Q4) had a higher risk of cognitive impairment than those with the lowest uric acid level (Q1)(OR=18.60,95%CI: 1.26-274.13), while no positive results were found in women. Conclusions Higher uric acid levels, especially in men, might increase the risk of cognitive impairment in people over 50 years.

Key words: Serum uric acid, Cognitive impairment, Cohort study

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