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. 2019 Jul 4;18:147. doi: 10.1186/s12944-019-1077-5

Age-related and gender-stratified differences in the association between high triglyceride and risk of hyperuricemia

Lei Zhang 1,#, Qilin Wan 1,#, Yuemin Zhou 2, Jing Xu 1, Chengyun Yan 1, Yuanyuan Ma 2, Minglong Xu 3, Ruili He 1, Yanming Li 1, Xiaoming Zhong 1, Guanchang Cheng 1,✉, Yuquan Lu 2,✉
PMCID: PMC6611049  PMID: 31272481

Abstract

Background

Elevated serum uric acid is commonly associated with high triglyceride. However, the relation of triglyceride and hyperuricemia in different gender and age groups is currently not well understood. This study aimed to evaluate age- and gender-related association of high triglyceride with hyperuricemia in a subgroup of Chinese population.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed physical examination data of 24,438 subjects (12,557 men and 11,881 women) in Kaifeng, China. The alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and serum uric acid were measured in all subjects. The triglyceride was categorized into < 1.21, 1.21 ~, 1.7 ~, 2.83 ~ and >  5.6 mmol/L subgroups, and odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of hyperuricemia were calculated by logistic regression analysis.

Results

Univariate and age-adjusted analyses showed that high triglyceride was positively associated with hyperuricemia (p <  0.01). Further age-stratified analysis showed that the positive association was significant in the 20 ~, 30 ~, 40 ~, 50 ~, 60 ~ and 80 ~ age groups in men. In women, no statistically significant was found in 60 ~ and 70 ~ age groups.

Conclusion

High triglyceride is positively associated with hyperuricemia in both men and women, and this association is age-related, especially in women.

Keywords: Hyperuricemia, Triglyceride, Risk, Age-related

Background

Hyperuricemia is widely considered as a key risk factor for metabolic syndrome, including dyslipidemia, in which hypertriglyceridemia is the most common lipid abnormality [1–6]. High uric acid (UA) levels were associated with increased triglyceridemia, independently of metabolic syndrome [7]. A survey of the prevalence of obesity in China during 2004 to 2008 showed that all rural areas had a low prevalence of obesity except in Henan, probably because of differences in diet [8]. Furthermore, a recent meta-analysis evaluating 302,430 individuals free of known vascular disease at baseline in 68 prospective studies showed that high triglyceride had a strong association with both cardiovascular disease and ischemic stroke [9]. In addition, the secondary prevention of those diseases and antihyperuricemic therapy involve long term and high costs [10–12]. Therefore, if we can identify the link of triglycerides with hyperuricemia in different age groups, more people will benefit.

Liou et al. reported that uric acid aggregated with log value of triglycerides but concluded that metabolic syndrome was not associated with hyperuricemia [13]. However, an Indian study enrolling 121 healthy men suggested that serum uric acid level was a good indicator of the level of triglyceride [14]. At present, little is known whether serum uric acid level and high triglyceride has the similar relationship in Chinese in different age-groups. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of high triglyceride with the risk of hyperuricemia in different genders and age-groups using physical examination data from a hospital-based physical examination center in Kaifeng, China.

Methods

Subjects

This study was approved by Ethics Committee of Huaihe Hospital of Henan University and all subjected provided written consent. The subjects were participants of physical examination at the Physical Examination Center of Huaihe Hospital of Henan University. Total number of the subjects were 38,475 consecutive participants from 2003 to 2017. After excluding subjects without available data on age, gender, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (SCr), a total of 24,438 eligible subjects (12,557 men and 11,881 women) were included in the final analysis (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Flow chart of participants

Serum uric acid and lipids measurements

Blood samples from participants undergoing an overnight fasting were collected in the morning and analyzed within an hour in hospital. Blood sample was tested using an autoanalyzer (Model 7600, HITACHI, Japan). Hyperuricemia was defined by the following criteria: men: serum uric acid ≥440 μmol/L, women: serum uric acid ≥360 μmol/L and categorized all the variables as follows: the plasma triglyceride were categorized into < 1.21 (normal), 1.21 ~ (above normal), 1.7 ~ (slightly damaged), 2.83 ~ (moderately damaged) and >  5.6 mmol/L (severely damaged) subgroups, and we combined the slightly, moderately, and severely damaged TG into a Damaged TG group; age was categorized into < 20, 20 ~, 30 ~, 40 ~, 50 ~, 60 ~, 70 ~, and 80 ~ years age subgroups; ALT was dichotomized into normal (≤ 40 U/L) and abnormal (> 40 U/L) subgroups; γ-GT was categorized into low (< 16 U/L), normal (16 ~ 73 U/L) and high (> 73 U/L) subgroups; SCr was categorized into low (men: < 54 mmol/L, women: < 44 mmol/L), normal (men: 54 ~ 106 mmol/L, women: 44 ~ 97 mmol/L) and high (men: > 106 mmol/L, women: > 97 mmol/L) subgroups; BUN was categorized into low (< 2.86 μmol/L), normal (2.86 ~ 7.14 μmol/L) and high (> 7.14 μmol/L) subgroups; TC was categorized into low (< 2.8 mmol/L), normal (2.8 ~ 5.17 mmol/L) and high subgroups (> 5.17 mmol/L); plasma glucose was categorized into low FPG (< 3.9 mmol/L), normal FPG (3.9 ~ mmol/L), impaired FPG (6.1 ~ mmol/L) and diabetic FPG (> 7.0 mmol/L) subgroups; and HDL-C was categorized into low (< 0.9 mmol/L), normal (0.9 ~ 2.19 mmol/L) and high (> 2.19 mmol/L) subgroups.

Statistical analysis

Statistical analysis was performed using Stata version 13 (StataCorp LLC, TX, USA). The chi-squared test was used to analyze the differences in the distribution of TG categories. Three models with progressive degrees of adjustment were used to evaluate the relationship between hyperuricemia with TG for men and women, separately. Model 1 was a univariate logistic regression model; Model 2 was an age-adjusted logistic regression model, and Model 3 was a multivariate logistic regression model (adjusted for age, ALT, γ-GT, SCr, BUN, TC, FPG, and HDL-C). Multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to calculate age-stratified association of TG and hyperuricemia for both men and women. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated in the logistical regression analysis. p <  0.05 was considered significant.

Results

We observed an increasing trend in the proportion of the Damaged TG group when the age increased from 20 to 40 years; thereafter, the proportion of the Damaged TG group started to decrease with age in men (Fig. 2). There was a growing trend of the proportion of the Damaged TG group among women with a flat plateau from 60 years of age (Fig. 3).

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Changes of triglyceride levels with age in men

Fig. 3.

Fig. 3

Changes of triglyceride levels with age in women

In Table 1, the Damaged TG group (1.7 ~, 2.83 ~ and >  5.6 mmol/L subgroups) had a higher proportion to have high levels of serum ALT, γ-GT, TC and hyperuricemia (all p <  0.05), but had a lower proportion to have high level of serum HDL-C (p <  0.001) in both genders.

Table 1.

Characteristics of the participants of physical examinations by fasting plasma triglyceride categories (mmol/L) in men and women

Men, fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L) Women, fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L)
No. of participants <  1.21 1.21 ~ 1.7 ~ 2.83 ~ >  5.6 P-value No. of participants <  1.21 1.21 ~ 1.7 ~ 2.83 ~ >  5.6 P-value
No. of participants 12,557 4293 (34.2) 3040 (24.2) 3335 (26.6) 1546 (12.3) 343 (2.7) 11,881 6023 (50.7) 2661 (22.4) 2353 (19.8) 747 (6.3) 97 (0.8)
Age (years), n (%)
 < 20 43 33 (76.7) 4 (9.3) 5 (11.6) 0 (0.0) 1 (2.3) <  0.001 22 17 (77.3) 3 (13.6) 2 (9.1) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) <  0.001
 20 ~ 1325 609 (46.0) 324 (24.5) 244 (18.4) 125 (9.4) 23 (1.7) 1880 1335 (71.0) 264 (14.0) 190 (10.1) 81 (4.3) 10 (0.5)
 30 ~ 2348 702 (29.9) 540 (23.0) 669 (28.5) 342 (14.6) 95 (4.1) 2485 1582 (63.7) 473 (19.0) 324 (13.0) 89 (3.6) 17 (0.7)
 40 ~ 3133 858 (27.4) 704 (22.5) 938 (29.9) 505 (16.1) 128 (4.1) 2652 1496 (56.4) 578 (21.8) 436 (16.4) 128 (4.8) 14 (0.5)
 50 ~ 2735 879 (32.1) 680 (24.9) 764 (27.9) 349 (12.8) 63 (2.3) 2492 904 (36.3) 679 (27.3) 654 (26.2) 224 (9.0) 31 (1.2)
 60 ~ 1848 684 (37.0) 474 (25.7) 510 (27.6) 157 (8.5) 23 (1.2) 1509 424 (28.1) 441 (29.2) 480 (31.8) 146 (9.7) 18 (1.2)
 70 ~ 848 386 (45.5) 233 (27.5) 166 (19.6) 56 (6.6) 7 (0.8) 679 214 (31.5) 172 (25.3) 222 (32.7) 64 (9.4) 7 (1.0)
 80 ~ 277 142 (51.3) 81 (29.2) 39 (14.1) 12 (4.3) 3 (1.1) 162 51 (31.5) 51 (31.5) 45 (27.8) 15 (9.3) 0 (0.0)
Alanine Aminotransferase (U/L), n (%)
 <= 40 10,864 3974 (36.6) 2694 (24.8) 2812 (25.9) 1165 (10.7) 219 (2.0) <  0.001 11,289 5856 (51.9) 2514 (22.3) 2172 (19.2) 661 (5.9) 86 (0.8) <  0.001
 >  40 1693 319 (18.8) 346 (20.4) 523 (30.9) 381 (22.5) 124 (7.3) 592 167 (28.2) 147 (24.8) 181 (30.6) 86 (14.5) 11 (1.9)
γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase (U/L), n (%)
 <  16 1722 1102 (64.0) 375 (21.8) 200 (11.6) 39 (2.3) 6 (0.4) <  0.001 6207 4088 (65.9) 1253 (20.2) 716 (11.5) 138 (2.2) 12 (0.2) <  0.001
 16 ~  73 9724 3077 (31.6) 2509 (25.8) 2766 (28.5) 1168 (12.0) 204 (2.1) 5488 1892 (34.5) 1364 (24.9) 1578 (28.8) 575 (10.5) 79 (1.4)
 >  73 1111 114 (10.3) 156 (14.0) 369 (33.2) 339 (30.5) 133 (12.0) 186 43 (23.1) 44 (23.7) 59 (31.7) 34 (18.3) 6 (3.2)
Serum Creatinine (mmol/L), n (%)
 Men < 54 or Women < 44 719 281 (39.1) 143 (19.9) 168 (23.4) 89 (12.4) 38 (5.3) <  0.001 1383 688 (49.8) 311 (22.5) 261 (18.9) 107 (7.7) 16 (1.2) <  0.001
 Men: 54~106 or Women: 44~97 11,715 3978 (34.0) 2862 (24.4) 3143 (26.8) 1431 (12.2) 301 (2.6) 10,461 5325 (50.9) 2339 (22.4) 2085 (19.9) 632 (6.0) 80 (0.8)
 Men > 106 or Women > 97 123 34 (27.6) 35 (28.5) 24 (19.5) 26 (21.1) 4 (3.3) 37 10 (27.0) 11 (29.7) 7 (18.9) 8 (21.6) 1 (2.7)
Blood Urea Nitrogen (μmol/L), n (%)
 <  2.86 101 36 (35.6) 23 (22.8) 26 (25.7) 12 (11.9) 4 (4.0) <  0.001 523 300 (57.4) 110 (21.0) 81 (15.5) 30 (5.7) 2 (0.4) 0.027
 2.86 ~  7.14 11,465 3853 (33.6) 2779 (24.2) 3103 (27.1) 1420 (12.4) 310 (2.7) 11,016 5570 (50.6) 2469 (22.4) 2196 (19.9) 690 (6.3) 91 (0.8)
 >  7.14 991 404 (40.8) 238 (24.0) 206 (20.8) 114 (11.5) 29 (2.9) 342 153 (44.7) 82 (24.0) 76 (22.2) 27 (7.9) 4 (1.2)
Total Cholesterol (mmol/L), n (%)
 <  2.8 82 66 (80.5) 12 (14.6) 3 (3.7) 1 (1.2) 0 (0.0) <  0.001 44 34 (77.3) 6 (13.6) 4 (9.1) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) <  0.001
 2.8 ~  5.17 7665 3252 (42.4) 1878 (24.5) 1777 (23.2) 671 (8.8) 87 (1.1) 7273 4561 (62.7) 1425 (19.6) 970 (13.3) 287 (4.0) 30 (0.4)
 >  5.17 4810 975 (20.3) 1150 (23.9) 1555 (32.3) 874 (18.2) 256 (5.3) 4564 1428 (31.3) 1230 (27.0) 1379 (30.2) 460 (10.1) 67 (1.5)
Fasting plasma glucose (mmol/L), n (%)
 <  3.9 20 9 (45.0) 6 (30.0) 2 (10.0) 3 (15.0) 0 (0.0) 20 9 (45.0) 5 (25.0) 3 (15.0) 2 (10.0) 1 (5.0) <  0.001
 3.9 ~ 9833 3591 (36.5) 2447 (24.9) 2521 (25.6) 1062 (10.8) 212 (2.2) <  0.001 10,194 5607 (55.0) 2217 (21.8) 1814 (17.8) 497 (4.9) 59 (0.6)
 6.1 ~ 1370 368 (26.9) 309 (22.6) 416 (30.4) 218 (15.9) 59 (4.3) 933 245 (26.3) 263 (28.2) 290 (31.1) 119 (12.8) 16 (1.7)
 >  7.0 1334 325 (24.4) 278 (20.8) 396 (29.7) 263 (19.7) 72 (5.4) 734 162 (22.1) 176 (24.0) 246 (33.5) 129 (17.6) 21 (2.9)
High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (mmol/L), n (%)
 <  0.9 2274 371 (16.3) 465 (20.5) 775 (34.1) 502 (22.1) 161 (7.1) <  0.001 709 98 (13.8) 134 (18.9) 234 (33.0) 197 (27.8) 46 (6.5) <  0.001
 0.9 ~  2.19 10,262 3904 (38.0) 2573 (25.1) 2559 (24.9) 1044 (10.2) 182 (1.8) 11,093 5865 (52.9) 2514 (22.7) 2115 (19.1) 548 (4.9) 51 (0.5)
 >  2.19 21 18 (85.7) 2 (9.5) 1 (4.8) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 79 60 (76.0) 13 (16.5) 4 (5.1) 2 (2.5) 0 (0.0)
Hyperuricemia (men > 440 μmol/L or women > 360 μmol/L)
 No 11,305 4068 (36.0) 2791 (24.7) 2948 (26.1) 1246 (11.0) 252 (2.2) <  0.001 11,193 5877 (52.5) 2507 (22.4) 2112 (18.9) 614 (5.5) 83 (0.7) <  0.001
 Yes 1252 225 (18.0) 249 (19.9) 387 (30.9) 300 (24.0) 91 (7.3) 688 146 (21.2) 154 (22.4) 241 (35.0) 133 (19.3) 14 (2.0)

Univariate logistical regression analysis (Model 1) in men showed that the above normal, slightly damaged, moderately damaged and severely damaged TG subgroups had an OR of 1.61 (95% CI: 1.34–1.94), 2.37 (95% CI: 2.00–2.82), 4.35 (95% CI: 3.62–5.23), and 6.53 (95% CI: 4.96–8.59), respectively; age-adjusted logistical regression analysis (Model 2) and multivariate logistical regression model (Model 3) showed a similar trend (Table 2). In all three models, the OR of hyperuricemia was positively associated with an increase in TG (p <  0.001). In women, age-adjusted logistic regression analysis showed a similar trend to that of univariate logistic regression model, in accordance with the results in men. Moderately damaged and severely damaged TG subgroups in Model 3 showed an OR of 5.42 (95% CI: 4.03–7.28) and 4.01 (95% CI: 2.13–7.55), respectively. In women, all the three models showed that TG was positively associated with risk for hyperuricemia (all p <  0.001).

Table 2.

Odds ratio of hyperuricemia among fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L) in men and womena

Men, fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L) Women, fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L)
<  1.21 1.21 ~ 1.7 ~ 2.83 ~ >  5.6 P for trendb <  1.21 1.21 ~ 1.7 ~ 2.83 ~ >  5.6 P for trendb
No. of participants 4293 3040 3335 1546 343 6023 2661 2353 747 97
Hyperuricemiac
 Cases 225 249 387 300 91 146 154 241 133 14
 Rate (%) 5.2 8.2 11.6 19.4 26.5 2.4 5.8 10.2 17.8 14.4
 Model 1, OR (95% CI) 1.00 1.61 (1.34–1.94) 2.37 (2.00–2.82) 4.35 (3.62–5.23) 6.53 (4.96–8.59) 0.000 1.00 2.47 (1.96–3.12) 4.59 (3.72–5.68) 8.72 (6.80–11.19) 6.79 (3.77–12.24) 0.000
 Model 2, OR (95% CI) 1.00 1.62 (1.35–1.96) 2.37 (2.00–2.81) 4.26 (3.54–5.12) 6.26 (4.76–8.25) 0.000 1.00 2.35 (1.86–2.97) 4.28 (3.44–5.33) 8.16 (6.33–10.53) 6.43 (3.56–11.61) 0.000
 Model 3, OR (95% CI) 1.00 1.46 (1.21–1.77) 1.99 (1.65–2.39) 3.10 (2.51–3.82) 4.27 (3.13–5.83) 0.000 1.00 1.95 (1.53–2.50) 3.20 (2.51–4.08) 5.42 (4.03–7.28) 4.01 (2.13–7.55) 0.000

aLogistic regression. Model 1, univariate; Model 2, adjusted with age; Model 3, adjusted with age, alanine aminotransferase (U/L), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (U/L), serum creatinine (mmol/L), blood urea nitrogen (μmol/L), total cholesterol (mmol/L), plasma glucose (mmol/l), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L). OR Odds ratio, CI Confidence interval

bContrasts of marginal linear predictions after logistic regression with Stata13

cHyperuricemia:(men > 440 μmol/L or women > 360 μmol/L

Multivariate logistic regression model showed that the positive association between hyperuricemia and TG was significant in men of 20~, 30 ~, 40 ~, 50 ~, 60 ~ and 80 ~ age subgroups (p <  0.05, Table 3). Increase in hyperuricemia in the severely damaged TG group was more significant for the 60~ age subgroup (OR = 12.07; 95% CI: 3.63–40.16). In women, the positive association was the lowest in the 50~ age group with increase in TG. No significant increase in hyperuricemia was observed in the 60 ~ (women) and 70 ~ (women and men) age groups (p > 0.05).

Table 3.

Odds ratio of hyperuricemia among fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L) and age in men and womena

Men, fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L) Women, fasting plasma triglyceride (mmol/L)
No. of participants Case Rate (%) <  1.21 1.21 ~ 1.7 ~ 2.83 ~ >  5.6 P for trendb No. of participants Case Rate (%) <  1.21 1.21 ~ 1.7 ~ 2.83 ~ >  5.6 P for trendb
No. of participants 12,557 1252 10.0 4293 3040 3335 1546 343 11,881 688 5.8 6023 2661 2353 747 97
Hyperuricemiac
 < 20 yrs 43 10 23.3 1.00 (−) (−) (−) (−) (−) 22 3 13.6 1.00 (−) (−) (−) (−) (−)
 20~ yrs 1325 175 13.2 1.00 1.02 (0.63–1.64) 1.50 (0.92–2.45) 2.40 (1.36–4.23) 3.03 (1.11–8.22) 0.005 1880 116 6.2 1.00 2.26 (1.26–4.03) 2.17 (1.13–4.16) 5.98 (2.79–12.83) 7.42 (1.43–38.36) 0.004
 30~ yrs 2348 304 12.9 1.00 1.70 (1.11–2.59) 1.78 (1.18–2.70) 3.10 (1.95–4.91) 3.88 (2.06–7.30) 0.000 2485 107 4.3 1.00 3.01 (1.74–5.20) 3.22 (1.75–5.90) 6.64 (3.11–14.16) 8.10 (2.10–31.17) 0.000
 40~ yrs 3133 288 9.2 1.00 1.80 (1.10–2.93) 3.22 (2.06–5.02) 4.92 (3.03–7.99) 6.73 (3.58–12.68) 0.000 2652 74 2.8 1.00 3.48 (1.76–6.86) 3.95 (1.91–8.18) 6.13 (2.40–15.64) (−) 0.001
 50~ yrs 2735 241 8.8 1.00 1.38 (0.88–2.15) 2.04 (1.34–3.11) 4.07 (2.57–6.45) 7.48 (3.77–14.85) 0.000 2492 159 6.4 1.00 1.58 (0.94–2.66) 2.31 (1.38–3.86) 4.12 (2.26–7.49) 5.07 (1.71–15.00) 0.000
 60~ yrs 1848 123 6.7 1.00 2.20 (1.16–4.15) 4.17 (2.29–7.59) 5.43 (2.57–11.45) 12.07 (3.63–40.16) 0.000 1509 123 8.2 1.00 0.82 (0.38–1.76) 3.79 (1.99–7.22) 5.59 (2.64–11.85) 1.15 (0.13–10.08) 0.549
 70~ yrs 848 81 9.6 1.00 1.12 (0.58–2.16) 1.07 (0.51–2.25) 1.48 (0.55–3.99) 4.46 (0.70–28.41) 0.096 679 78 11.5 1.00 1.53 (0.68–3.41) 2.82 (1.34–5.97) 1.06 (0.33–3.40) (−) 0.570
 80~ yrs 277 30 10.8 1.00 4.80 (1.58–14.56) 5.04 (1.26–20.19) 10.13 (1.58–64.80) (−) 0.018 162 28 17.3 1.00 1.70 (0.32–8.87) 3.75 (0.71–19.67) 16.75 (2.26–124.18) (−) 0.006

aLogistic regression model adjusted with alanine aminotransferase (U/L), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (U/L), serum creatinine (mmol/L), blood urea nitrogen (μmol/L), total cholesterol (mmol/L), plasma glucose (mmol/L), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L)

bContrasts of marginal linear predictions from 3.9~ though > 7.0 groups after logistic regression with Stata13

cHyperuricemia:(men > 440 μmol/L or women > 360 μmol/L

Considering the complicated relationship between triglyceride and glucose metabolism, we also analyzed the association of triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) with hyperuricemia. The results showed that TyG tended to be a better index of hyperuricemia in females than in males (Table 4). After being stratified by the age, the better behavior of TyG was concentrated in 40~ and 60~ age groups (Table 5).

Table 4.

Odds ratio of hyperuricemia among triglyceride-glucose index in men and womena

Men, triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) Women, triglyceride-glucose index (TyG)
0 ~ 1st quatile ~ 2nd quatile ~ 3rd quatile ~ P for trendb 0 ~ 1st quatile ~ 2nd quatile ~ 3rd quatile ~ P for trendb
No. of  participants 2169 3034 3410 3944 3924 3057 2701 2199
Hyperuricemiac
 Cases 103 199 333 617 67 114 198 309
 Rate (%) 4.7 6.6 9.8 15.6 1.7 3.7 7.3 14.1
 Model 1, OR (95% CI) 1.00 1.40 (1.10–1.79) 2.16 (1.72–2.72) 3.72 (3.00–4.62) <  0.001 1.00 2.23 (1.64–3.33) 4.53 (3.41–6.71) 9.41 (7.19–12.33) <  0.001
 Model 2, OR (95% CI) 1.00 1.47 (1.15–1.88) 2.26 (1.80–2.85) 3.90 (3.14–4.84) <  0.001 1.00 2.19 (1.61–2.98) 4.39 (3.29–5.86) 9.08 (6.85–12.72) <  0.001
 Model 3, OR (95% CI) 1.00 1.32 (1.03–1.72) 1.85 (1.46–2.35) 2.68 (2.11–3.41) <  0.001 1.00 1.90 (1.39–2.61) 3.32 (2.44–4.52) 6.08 (4.43–8.34) <  0.001

aLogistic regression. Model 1, univariate; Model 2, adjusted with age; Model 3, adjusted with age, alanine aminotransferase (U/L), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (U/L), serum creatinine (mmol/L), blood urea nitrogen (μmol/L), total cholesterol (mmol/L), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L). OR Odds ratio, CI Confidence interval

bContrasts of marginal linear predictions after logistic regression with Stata13

cHyperuricemia:(men > 440 μmol/L or women > 360 μmol/L

Table 5.

Odds ratio of hyperuricemia among triglyceride-glucose index and age in men and womena

Men, triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) Women, triglyceride-glucose index (TyG)
No. of participants Case Rate (%) 0 ~ 1st quatile ~ 2nd quatile ~ 3rd quatile ~ P for trendb No. of participants Case Rate (%) 0 ~ 1st quatile ~ 2nd quatile ~ 3rd quatile ~ P for trendb
No. of participants 12,557 1252 10.0 2169 3034 3410 3944 11,881 688 5.8 3924 3057 2701 2199
Hyperuricemiac
 < 20 yrs 43 10 23.3 1.00 4.98 (0.37–66.42) 73.31 (1.18–4529.68) 7.78 (0.20–297.59) 0.135 22 3 13.6 1.00 (−) (−) (−) (−)
 20~ yrs 1325 175 13.2 1.00 1.19 (0.70–2.77) 1.29 (0.76–2.18) 2.44 (1.41–4.24) 0.002 1880 116 6.2 1.00 2.77 (1.50–5.97) 2.49 (1.23–5.23) 5.72 (2.82–11.61) <  0.001
 30~ yrs 2348 304 12.9 1.00 1.30 (0.77–2.21) 1.83 (1.11–3.32) 2.27 (1.36–3.78) <  0.001 2485 107 4.3 1.00 1.89 (0.96–3.69) 4.15 (2.18–7.89) 5.95 (2.92–12.11) <  0.000
 40~ yrs 3133 288 9.2 1.00 0.98 (0.51–1.89) 2.03 (1.13–3.65) 3.77 (2.12–6.72) <  0.001 2652 74 2.8 1.00 3.61 (1.29–13.86) 9.42 (3.42–25.97) 11.42 (3.87–33.73) <  0.001
 50~ yrs 2735 241 8.8 1.00 1.54 (0.81–2.93) 1.92 (1.04–3.54) 3.31 (1.80–6.75) <  0.001 2492 159 6.4 1.00 0.91 (0.46–1.79) 1.64 (0.87–3.57) 2.86 (1.51–5.42) 0.002
 60~ yrs 1848 123 6.7 1.00 3.17 (1.06–9.46) 4.90 (1.67–14.37) 6.46 (2.19–19.53) <  0.001 1509 123 8.2 1.00 2.27 (0.62–8.31) 3.98 (1.18–13.47) 10.67 (3.17–35.98) <  0.001
 70~ yrs 848 81 9.6 1.00 1.48 (0.62–3.54) 1.35 (0.54–3.36) 1.34 (0.53–3.41) 0.600 679 78 11.5 1.00 0.97 (0.30–3.14) 1.60 (0.53–4.78) 2.25 (0.74–6.83) 0.198
 80~ yrs 277 30 10.8 1.00 1.39 (0.29–6.72) 6.16 (1.51–25.72) 3.68 (0.72–18.71) 0.035 162 28 17.3 (−) 1.00 3.08 (0.67–14.27) 5.24 (1.10–24.87) 0.321

aLogistic regression model adjusted with alanine aminotransferase (U/L), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (U/L), serum creatinine (mmol/L), blood urea nitrogen (μmol/L), total cholesterol (mmol/L), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L)

bContrasts of marginal linear predictions from 3.9~ though > 7.0 groups after logistic regression with Stata13

cHyperuricemia: men > 440 μmol/L or women > 360 μmol/L

Discussion

In this study, we found a positive relationship of high triglyceride with hyperuricemia in both men and women, in agreement with an Indian study [14]. Dietary habits have been changing in both China and India, and obesity and hypertriglyceridemia have begun to occur in younger people.

The relationship of serum uric acid with triglyceridemia is still controversial. Earlier studies showed that hyperuricemia was always accompanied with hypertriglyceridemia initially [15, 16]. In addition, TG was more strongly associated with serum UA than HDL-C and TC, using the healthy examination data [17]. A Kuwait study further supported the close relation in dyslipidemic patients, a group already at high coronary artery disease risk [18]. Nevertheless, whether age and gender differences mediate the association between serum UA levels and TG is still controversial. In present study, we demonstrated that after adjustment with age (Model 2) and other confounding factors (Model 3), the OR still increased with the increase in TG. These results suggest that TG levels independently affect the incidence of hyperuricemia. However, in multivariate logistic regression analysis, the positive association between hyperuricemia and TG showed a gender and age differences and the positive association was the lowest in the 50~ age group. Whether decreasing level of estrogen after menopause is responsible for the differences needs further studies.

Stelmach et al. investigated 607 Polish adults with hyperuricemia and demonstrated that the upper tertile of serum uric acid levels had higher TG values in males but not in females [19]. In contrast, Lippi et al. retrospectively enrolled a large cohort of unselected adult outpatients and showed that triglycerides were independently associated with serum UA in women but not in men [20]. Notably, in this study our data showed that high TG level was positively associated with the incidence of hyperuricemia in both men and women. This is consistent with a prospective study which demonstrated that hypertriglyceridemia in men might strengthen the effect of serum UA on the development of gout [21]. Chinese diet is characterized with a high-fat diet, particularly the overconsumption of cooking oil may be a significant risk factor for obesity [22, 23].

To investigate lipid abnormalities in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, Wei et al. retrospectively analyzed 1213 AMI patients in East China and showed a significant difference in triglycerides for male but not for female AMI patients [24]. Xu et al. found that older Chinese people had moderate and high levels of unbalanced diets [25]. Significant differences were influenced by many factors, such as gender, marital status, work status, education levels. These findings highlight complex interaction between hyperuricemia and TG. Differences in dietary patterns such as the proportion of carbohydrate or fat may be responsible for the variability in the relationship between serum uric acid and triglyceridemia.

TyG index is proposed as a marker of moderate insulin resistance. Therefore, we analyzed the association of TyG with hyperuricemia. We found that TyG could be a better index of hyperuricemia in females than in males. However, a recent study indicated that TyG index presented the significant risks for chronic kidney disease in both men and women [26]. The reason for the disparities is unclear and need additional investigations.

Our study has two main limitations. First, our study was conducted in a special group, so the generalizability of our findings to other population needs confirmation in future studies. Second, confounding factors such as diet patterns and health concerns among people of different ages were not included in our analysis, which may have an impact on the results. Further studies are required to elucidate the association between triglyceride and hyperuricemia in different gender and age groups.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that high triglyceride was positively associated with hyperuricemia in both men and women, and this association was age-related, especially in women.

Acknowledgements

We thank all of participants in this study.

Abbreviations

ALT

Alanine aminotransferase

BUN

Blood urea nitrogen

HDL-C

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

SCr

Serum creatinine

TC

Total cholesterol

TG

Triglyceride

UA

Uric acid

γ-GT

γ-glutamyl transpeptidase

Authors’ contributions

GC and YL designed the study. LZ, QW, YZ, JX, CY, YM, MX, RH collected the data. YL and XZ analyzed the data. LZ and GC wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the Scientific and Technological Project of Henan Province (No. 201502017).

Availability of data and materials

All data and material are available upon request.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by Ethics Committee of Huaihe Hospital of Henan University and all subjected provided written consent.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Footnotes

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Lei Zhang and Qilin Wan are joint first authors.

Contributor Information

Lei Zhang, Email: 104754161086@vip.henu.edu.cn.

Qilin Wan, Email: qilinwan@163.com.

Yuemin Zhou, Email: yueminzhou2@hotmail.com.

Jing Xu, Email: 13693959819@163.com.

Chengyun Yan, Email: yiluhuayu0373@163.com.

Yuanyuan Ma, Email: myy1002@163.com.

Minglong Xu, Email: 93615987@qq.com.

Ruili He, Email: ruilihe521@163.com.

Yanming Li, Email: yanminglee@163.com.

Xiaoming Zhong, Email: zxm10020202@126.com.

Guanchang Cheng, Phone: 0371-23906832, Email: Mike0092@126.com.

Yuquan Lu, Phone: 0371-23906876, Email: lll3923@gmail.com.

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