A Cross-sectional Study on the Association between Serum Uric Acid and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in A Health Checkup Population

Objective To analyze the relationship between serum uric acid and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)by observing the prevalence of NAFLD among population with different levels of serum uric acid.Methods Totally 10 460 individuals who received health check-up in our center were enrolled.Their body height,weight,blood pressure,hepatitis related markers,blood lipids,blood sugar,and liver and kidney function in the fasting state were measured,andelectrocardiograghy,abdominal color Doppler ultrasound,and chest X-ray examination were performed.The diagnosis of NAFLD was made according to the diagnostic criteria developed by China Institute of Liver Disease and Alcoholic Liver Disease Group.Results Except in hyperglycemic individuals,the incidences of overweight/obesity,hypertension,hyperlipidemia,and metabolic syndrome(MS) increased along with the rise of serum uric acid(P0.05).Except in male MS patients,the incidence of NAFLD also rose no matter whether the subjects had overweight/obesity,hyperglycemia,hypertension,or lipids disorder,especially when serum uric acid level was higher than 333 μmol/L in males or higher than 233 μmol/L in females(P0.05).The incidence of NAFLD was expecially high among female subjects with hyperglycemia and lipids disorder and those with the lowest level of serum uric acid(P0.05).Among subjects without any metabolic syndrome,the detection rate of NAFLD was significantly higher in males than in females at the same serum uric acid level,but there was a sharp rise of NAFLD incidence among females when the serum uric acid was greater than 233 μmol/L(P0.01);meanwhile,the detection rate of NAFLD increased with the rise of serum uric acid in both males and females(P0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that sex,body mass index,blood glucose,triglyceride,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol,and uric acid grading were risk factors for NAFLD(OR=2.600,1.354,1.282,1.276,1.214,1.236 respectively).Conclusion Hyperuricemia is the high risk factor for NAFLD.