Hyperuricemia is a significant risk factor for the onset of chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have shown that hyperuricemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, few studies have examined whether hyperuricemia is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), so to investigate the significance of hyperuricemia as a risk factor for CKD, we analyzed data collected in annual health check-ups.

METHODS

The data of 11,048 subjects who underwent an annual health check-up were analyzed in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

RESULTS

After adjustment for covariate factors, a multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, HbA1c, and uric acid (hazard ratio: 1.66) were independently and significantly associated with CKD. We also analyzed the data of 1,652 subjects who underwent annual health check-ups for 5 consecutive years. Over that 5-year period, 93 subjects developed CKD. We compared the baseline data of the subjects who developed CKD with the data of those who did not, and we found significant between-group differences in gender, age, HDL-cholesterol, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, and uric acid. After adjustment for several covariate factors, a multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that only age and hyperuricemia (hazard ratio: 1.36) were independent risk factors for the development of CKD.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that hyperuricemia is an independent risk factor for the development of CKD.