Association Between Serum Uric Acid and Lung Function in People with and without Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Background: The effect of serum uric acid (SUA) levels on lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) people remained unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between SUA and lung function. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to measure the SUA levels and lung function in 2797 consecutive eligible individuals. Of these, individuals in our study were divided into two groups, the COPD group (n=1387) and the non-COPD group (n=1410). The diagnosis of COPD is defined as post-bronchodilator first second of forced expiratory volume (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio of less than 0.70. Multivariable adjustment linear models were applied to estimate the effect of SUA levels on FEV1 % predicted, FVC% predicted, and FEV1/FVC stratified by COPD status. Results: After multivariable adjustment, each 1 mg/dL increase of SUA was significantly associated with a decrease in FEV1 % predicted (−1.63%, 95% confidence interval [CI] −2.37 to −0.90), FVC % predicted (−0.89%, 95% CI −1.55 to −0.24), and FEV1 /FVC (−0.70%, 95% CI −1.10 to −0.30). In the COPD group, each 1 mg/dL increase of SUA was significantly associated with decreases in FEV1 % predicted (−1.87%, 95% CI −2.91 to −0.84), FVC% predicted (−1.35%, 95% CI −2.35 to −0.34), and FEV1/FVC (−0.63%, 95% CI −1.18 to −0.08). However, no significant association between lung function and SUA was found among people without COPD. Conclusion: High SUA levels were associated with lower lung function, especially in COPD patients. However, no statistically significant effect of SUA on lung function was found in people without COPD.