High uric acid levels are an independent risk factor for diabetic kidney disease, according to a recent Chinese study.

In a study of 3,212 patients with type 2 diabetes—18.7% of whom had hyperuricemia—researchers found that the prevalence of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) was significantly higher in patients with hyperuricemia than in those with normal uric acid levels (68.3 vs. 41.5%). The prevalence of DKD increased with increasing uric acid levels, the researchers reported online in PLOS ONE. The increased prevalence of DKD in patients with high versus normal uric acid was more pronounced in male than female patients. Results also showed that increased uric acid levels correlated with decreased HbA1c.

The study, which was led by Dandan Yan, MD, and Yinfang Tu, MD, of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital in Shanghai, also found that uric acid correlated positively with albuminuria and creatinine levels, but negatively with estimated glomerular filtration rate, after adjusting for confounding factors.


Continue Reading