Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine logoLink to The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine
. 2001 May-Jun;74(3):151–157.

Epidemiology of hyperuricemia in the elderly.

S W Lai 1, C K Tan 1, K C Ng 1
PMCID: PMC2588712  PMID: 11501710

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Our study used data collected in Chung-Hsing Village to evaluate the relationship between hyperuricemia and the cardiovascular risk factors and the socio-demographic factors in the elderly in May 1998. METHODS: All individuals aged 65 and over were studied. A total of 1093 subjects, out of 1774 registered residents, were contacted by face-to-face interview. The response rate was 61.6 percent. However only 586 respondents had blood tests and completed questionnaires. Analysis in this study was based on these 586 subjects. To study the significant correlates of hyperuricemia, t- test, two-way ANOVA, chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were used. RESULTS: Our results showed that 66 percent were men and 34 percent were women. The mean age was 73.1+/-5.3 years. The proportions of hyperuricemia were 57.3 percent in men and 40.9 percent in women (p < .01). In chi-square test, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, renal function impairment, retirement status and marital status were related to hyperuricemia. After controlling the other covariates, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the significant related factors of hyperuricemia were hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and renal function impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperuricemia is often found in the elderly. Hyperuricemia is more common in elderly men than in elderly women. A large-scale investigation will be suggested in the future to address causal-effect issues between hyperuricemia and hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, or renalfunction impairment.

Full text

PDF
151

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Agamah E. S., Srinivasan S. R., Webber L. S., Berenson G. S. Serum uric acid and its relation to cardiovascular disease risk factors in children and young adults from a biracial community: the Bogalusa Heart Study. J Lab Clin Med. 1991 Sep;118(3):241–249. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bengtsson C. Elevated serum uric acid levels during treatment with antihypertensive drugs. Acta Med Scand Suppl. 1979;628:69–71. doi: 10.1111/j.0954-6820.1979.tb00781.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chou C. T., Lai J. S. The epidemiology of hyperuricaemia and gout in Taiwan aborigines. Br J Rheumatol. 1998 Mar;37(3):258–262. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/37.3.258. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chou P., Soong L. N., Lin H. Y. Community-based epidemiological study on hyperuricemia in Pu-Li, Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. 1993 Jul;92(7):597–602. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hall A. P., Barry P. E., Dawber T. R., McNamara P. M. Epidemiology of gout and hyperuricemia. A long-term population study. Am J Med. 1967 Jan;42(1):27–37. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(67)90004-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Harris M. D., Siegel L. B., Alloway J. A. Gout and hyperuricemia. Am Fam Physician. 1999 Feb 15;59(4):925–934. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Li Y., Stamler J., Xiao Z., Folsom A., Tao S., Zhang H. Serum uric acid and its correlates in Chinese adult populations, urban and rural, of Beijing. The PRC-USA Collaborative Study in Cardiovascular and Cardiopulmonary Epidemiology. Int J Epidemiol. 1997 Apr;26(2):288–296. doi: 10.1093/ije/26.2.288. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. MIKKELSEN W. M., DODGE H. J., VALKENBURG H. THE DISTRIBUTION OF SERUM URIC ACID VALUES IN A POPULATION UNSELECTED AS TO GOUT OR HYPERURICEMIA: TECUMSEH, MICHIGAN 1959-1960. Am J Med. 1965 Aug;39:242–251. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(65)90048-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Nicholls A., Snaith M. L., Scott J. T. Effect of oestrogen therapy on plasma and urinary levels of uric acid. Br Med J. 1973 Feb 24;1(5851):449–451. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5851.449. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Saggiani F., Pilati S., Targher G., Branzi P., Muggeo M., Bonora E. Serum uric acid and related factors in 500 hospitalized subjects. Metabolism. 1996 Dec;45(12):1557–1561. doi: 10.1016/s0026-0495(96)90188-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Woo J., Swaminathan R., Cockram C., Lau E., Chan A. Association between serum uric acid and some cardiovascular risk factors in a Chinese population. Postgrad Med J. 1994 Jul;70(825):486–491. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.70.825.486. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine are provided here courtesy of Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine

RESOURCES