• Y-J Lee, S Cho, and S R Kim.
• Department of Medicine, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
• Intern Med J. 2014 Dec 1; 44 (12a): 121012161210-6.

Background/AimsThe association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS) has recently been reported in several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. We investigated SUA as a biomarker to predict future development of MetS in healthy Korean men without diabetes or hypertension and determined the optimal cut-off levels of SUA.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from healthy men who received a general health check-up in 2003. A total of 1809 participants free of MetS, diabetes and hypertension was enrolled. Participants were classified into three groups based on SUA levels: group 1 (<5.5 mg/dL), group 2 (5.5-6.9 mg/dL) and group 3 (≥7.0 mg/dL).ResultsDuring 13,802 person-years of follow up, 127 participants developed MetS. After adjusting for multiple associated parameters, SUA was significantly associated with incident MetS (hazard ratios comparing groups 2 and 3 vs group 1, 2.45 and 3.47 respectively; P < 0.001). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal cut-off level for SUA to predict the development of MetS was 6.5 mg/dL.ConclusionOur results indicate that an increased level of SUA, even within the normal range, is associated with future development of MetS in healthy middle-aged men.© 2014 The Authors; Internal Medicine Journal © 2014 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

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