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. 2020 Sep 17;15(9):e0239185. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239185

Association of sleep quality and sleep duration with serum uric acid levels in adults

Yu-Tsung Chou 1,2, Chung-Hao Li 1,2, Wei-Chen Shen 1, Yi-Ching Yang 1,3, Feng-Hwa Lu 1,3, Jin-Shang Wu 1,3,4,*,#, Chih-Jen Chang 1,5,*,#
Editor: Xianwu Cheng6
PMCID: PMC7497980  PMID: 32941519

Abstract

Objective

To date, the association between sleep duration or sleep quality and hyperuricemia has remained unclear. In addition, sleep duration and quality were not considered concomitantly in previous studies. Thus, this study was aimed toward an examination of the association of sleep duration and quality with uric acid level in a Taiwanese population.

Methods

A total of 4,555 patients aged ≥18 years were enrolled in this study. The sleep duration was classified into three groups: short (<7 h), normal (7–9 h), and long (≥9 h). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality, and poor sleep quality was defined as a global PSQI score of >5.

Results

Poor sleepers were younger and had lower body mass index, blood pressure, uric acid, blood sugar, cholesterol, creatinine level, shorter sleep duration, and engaged in less exercise but had a higher white blood cell count and prevalence of smoking as compared to good sleepers. There were also differences in body mass index, blood pressure, uric acid, blood sugar, lipid profiles, and sleep quality among subjects with different sleep durations. After adjusting for other variables, poor sleep quality was associated with lower uric acid levels. In addition, short sleep duration was positively associated with higher uric acid levels.

Conclusions

Poor sleep quality was related to lower uric acid levels, whereas short sleep duration was associated with higher uric acid levels.

Introduction

Hyperuricemia is one of most common metabolic disorders in modern society. Its prevalence is approximately 20% worldwide [1], and it may result in several crystal deposition-related disorders, such as gout, urate nephropathy, and urolithiasis [2]. Furthermore, hyperuricemia is also related to specific medical conditions, such as chronic kidney disease [3, 4], cardiovascular disease [5, 6], hypertension [7, 8], and early mortality [9]. In addition, some studies have demonstrated that high-normal levels of serum uric acid are also associated with risk of diabetes [10], impaired renal function [11] and even mild cognitive impairment [12]. However, low uric acid levels have been shown to be related to a higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease (PD), and PD-related diseases such as multiple system atrophy and progressive supra-nuclear palsy [13–16]. Some studies have shown the beneficial aspects of uric acid for its antioxidative and neuroprotective effects [17–21], and the optimal uric acid level appears to be beneficial for health [19].

Sleep plays an important role in the maintenance of personal health. However, poor sleep quality and sleep deprivation are common nowadays [22]. Various studies have demonstrated that inadequate sleep, such as short sleep duration or poor sleep quality, are associated with cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, non-alcoholic liver disease, diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia, and even all-cause mortality [23–31].

Physiologically, sleep mediates the level of catecholamine and cortisol [32, 33], which may potentially influence uric acid levels [34]. Most previous studies have found that sleep-disordered breathing such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with hyperuricemia and gout [35–38]. However, studies investigating the relationship between sleep quality or sleep duration and uric acid levels are limited [39–44]. One study found lower serum uric acid levels to be associated with poorer sleep quality [39]. Another study showed that participants had a positive association between sleep quality and uric acid level after acute ischemic stroke [40]. As for the relationship between sleep duration and uric acid, two studies demonstrated that sleep duration was inversely associated with serum uric acids [41, 42], and another study found that long sleepers had a lower prevalence of hyperuricemia [43]. However, the relationship between sleep duration and uric acid was insignificant in another study based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database [44]. To our knowledge, there have been no studies considering the concomitant influence of both sleep quality and sleep duration on uric acid levels. Thus, this study was aimed toward an evaluation of the association of sleep duration and sleep quality with uric acid levels in an adult population.

Methods

Study population

A total of 4,592 patients who visited a health center for a self-motivated general health assessment were recruited in this study. Data were obtained from a health examination center at National Cheng Kung University Hospital, from October 2001 to August 2009. Secondary data without any personal identifiable information was used, and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of NCKUH in Taiwan (IRB number: A-ER-107-285). Participants aged <18 years, on medications for hyperuricemia, hypertension, DM or dyslipidemia, and those with incomplete data were excluded.

Clinical measurements

The baseline data included demographic information, personal medical and medication history, lifestyle habits (alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and regular exercise), and sleep status. Current alcohol consumption was defined as at least one alcoholic drink per week in the past 6 months. Current smoking was defined as at least 20 cigarettes per month in the past 6 months. Regular exercise was defined as a habit of engaging in vigorous exercise at least 3 times per week. Sleep duration and quality were assessed using the Chinese version of the PSQI [45], which was used to evaluate the participants’ sleep quality over a 1-month time interval using a self-rated questionnaire. The Chinese version of the PSQI was validated as an assessment tool for evaluating sleep condition, with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.82–0.83, and good test-retest reliability, with a coefficient of 0.85. A Chinese version of the PSQI global score > 5 had a diagnostic sensitivity of 98% and specificity of 55% in terms of distinguishing poor and good sleepers [45]. The PSQI reflects seven important aspect of sleep, including sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep latency, subjective sleep quality, use of sleep medications, sleep disturbances, and presence of daytime dysfunction. The total global PSQI scores range from 0 to 21 points, where a lower global PSQI score indicates better sleep quality. Participants with a global PSQI score of >5 were defined as poor sleepers. Sleep duration was categorized into three groups: short (<7 h/day), normal (7–9 h/day), and long (≧9 h/day) [46].

Each participant’s body weight and height were measured in light indoor clothing. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (kg)/height squared (m2). Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 27kg/m2 according to the guidelines suggested by the Department of Health in Taiwan [47]. After resting for at least 5 min, the blood pressure of the right branchial artery of each participant was measured in the supine position. Hypertension was defined as a right brachial systolic blood pressure (SBP) of ≥140 mmHg, a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg [48], or a positive history of hypertension.

After fasting for at least 12 h, all participants underwent blood sampling for basic biochemical examinations. All of the blood samples were drawn from 7 am to 9 am in the morning. None of the women were pregnant when tested. Laboratory data including serum uric acid, FPG, HbA1C, 2-hPG, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), white blood cell (WBC) count, and creatinine levels were collected. For all participants without a medical history of diabetes, a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was performed after overnight fasting for 12 h, with a normal diet for 3 days before the test and abstaining from smoking for more than one day. DM was defined as a self-reported DM history, 2-h postprandial glucose (2-hPG) of ≧200 mg/dL, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) of ≧126 mg/dL, or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of ≧6.5% according to the American Diabetes Association’s diagnostic criteria [49]. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation [50].

Statistical analysis

The data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 17.0, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL). In the univariate analysis, an independent t-test was performed for the continuous variables and a Pearson’s chi-square analysis was used for the categorical variables to compare the participants’ data based on sleep quality. Sleep durations was categorized into three groups, and a Pearson’s chi-square analysis and an analysis of variance were used, where appropriate. In the multivariate analysis, linear regressions were performed to investigate the association of sleep status, including sleep quality and duration, with uric acid levels. Adjusted variables included age, gender, obesity, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60, TC/HDL-C ratio, WBC count, DM, HTN, current smoking, alcohol consumption, and regular exercise. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.

Results

Of all 4,592 participants recruited for the final analysis, 59.9% were poor sleepers. Table 1 shows a comparison of the participants’ clinical characteristics based on sleep quality. There were significant differences between the good and poor sleepers in terms of age, gender, BMI, blood pressure, uric acid, FPG, TC, WBC count, and renal functions. Poor sleepers had shorter sleep duration, engaged in less exercise, and had a higher prevalence of current smoking. Table 2 shows a comparison of the participants’ clinical characteristics based on sleep duration. There were differences in body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, renal function, uric acid, lipid profiles, and sleep quality scores. The prevalence of poor sleepers, smoking, and exercise habits were also different among subjects with different sleep duration.

Table 1. Comparisons of participants’ clinical characteristics based on sleep quality.

Variables PSQI ≤ 5 (n = 1842) PSQI > 5 (n = 2750) P value
Age, years 44.8 ± 11.1 43.4 ± 11.8 <0.001
Male 1156 (62.8) 1619 (58.9) 0.008
BMI, kg/m2 24.0 ± 3.3 23.9 ± 3.6 0.202
BMI ≥ 27 299 (16.2) 465 (16.9) 0.546
SBP, mmHg 114.7 ± 15.1 113.8 ± 15.2 0.034
DBP, mmHg 68.1 ± 10.1 67.4 ± 10.4 0.038
FPG, mg/dL 90.7 ± 18.6 89.6 ± 19.8 0.048
ALT, U/L 31.7 ± 31.0 32.0 ± 34.2 0.765
Cholesterol, mg/dL 195.6 ± 35.3 192.6 ± 36.5 0.006
Triglyceride, mg/dL 122.8 ± 85.9 123.7 ± 83.8 0.724
HDL-C, mg/dL 49.8 ± 13.3 49.4 ± 13.4 0.355
Cholesterol/HDL-C 4.2 ± 1.3 4.2 ± 1.3 0.584
Creatinine, mg/dL 0.88 ± 0.18 0.86 ± 0.18 0.002
eGFR <60 170 (9.2) 203 (7.4) 0.025
WBC count, 10^3/μL 6.1 ± 1.6 6.2 ± 3.0 0.013
Uric acid, mg/dL 6.1 ± 1.5 6.0 ± 1.5 0.038
Hypertension 150 (8.1) 247 (9.0) 0.322
Diabetes mellitus 109 (5.9) 172 (6.3) 0.640
PSQI score 3.9 ± 1.1 8.7 ± 2.6 <0.001
Sleep duration, h/day 7.1 ± 0.8 6.1 ± 1.1 <0.001
    <7 527 (28.6) 1959 (71.2) <0.001
    7–9 1266 (70.8) 727 (28.5)
    >9 49 (2.7) 24 (0.9)
Current alcohol use 284 (15.4) 477 (17.3) 0.085
Current smoking 267 (14.5) 494 (18.0) 0.002
Exercise ≥ 3/wk 265 (14.4) 295 (10.7) <0.001
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Data expressed as mean ± standard deviation or number (percent).

SBP: systolic blood pressure, DBP: diastolic blood pressure, FPG: fasting plasma glucose, ALT: Alanine Aminotransferase, HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate, PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index

Table 2. Comparisons of participants’ clinical characteristics based on sleep duration.

Variables Sleep duration < 7 h/day (n = 2486) Sleep duration 7–9 h/day (n = 2087) Sleep duration ≥ 9 h/day (n = 19) P value
Age, years 45.0 ± 11.6 43.0 ± 11.2 38.1 ± 13.9 <0.001
Male 1490 (59.9) 1249 (61.4) 36 (49.3) 0.087
BMI, kg/m2 24.1 ± 3.5 23.8 ± 3.4 23.1 ± 3.9 0.003
BMI ≥ 27 449 (18.1) 405 (15.0) 10 (13.7) 0.018
SBP, mmHg 114.4 ± 15.3 114.0 ± 14.9 111.5 ± 15.3 0.225
DBP, mmHg 67.9 ± 10.5 67.5 ± 10.0 64.1 ± 10.5 0.003
FPG, mg/dL 90.0 ± 20.0 90.0 ± 18.0 92.6 ± 30.5 0.527
ALT, U/L 32.0 ± 31.5 31.8 ± 35.0 28.6 ± 23.3 0.691
Cholesterol, mg/dL 194.9 ± 37.2 192.5 ± 34.8 193.4 ± 34.1 0.078
Triglyceride, mg/dL 124.8 ± 84.4 121.3 ± 83.9 129.3 ± 106.6 0.322
HDL-C, mg/dL 49.6 ± 13.5 49.4 ± 13.1 51.6 ± 14.4 0.370
Cholesterol/HDL-C 4.2 ± 1.3 4.2 ± 1.3 4.1 ± 1.4 0.421
Creatinine, mg/dL 0.87 ± 0.18 0.87 ± 0.18 0.86 ± 0.18 0.760
eGFR <60 205 (8.2) 165 (8.1) 3 (4.1) 0.443
WBC count, 10^3/μL 6.1 ± 1.6 6.2 ± 3.4 6.4 ± 1.8 0.301
Uric acid, mg/dL 6.1 ± 1.5 6.0 ± 1.5 6.0 ± 1.6 0.462
Hypertension 231 (9.3) 160 (7.9) 6 (8.2) 0.237
Diabetes mellitus 163 (6.6) 112 (5.5) 6 (8.2) 0.258
Total PSQI 8.1 ± 3.2 5.1 ± 2.3 4.9 ± 2.6 <0.001
PSQI >5 1959 (78.8) 767 (37.7) 24 (32.9) <0.001
Sleep duration, h/day 5.7 ± 0.8 7.4 ± 0.5 9.3 ± 0.6 <0.001
Current alcohol use 405 (16.3) 344 (16.9) 12 (16.4) 0.851
Current smoking 409 (16.5) 338 (16.6) 14 (19.2) 0.823
Exercise ≥ 3/wk 310 (12.5) 243 (12.0) 7 (9.6) 0.687
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Data expressed as mean ± standard deviation or number (percent).

BMI: body mass index, SBP: systolic blood pressure, DBP: diastolic blood pressure, FPG: fasting plasma glucose, ALT: Alanine Aminotransferase, TC: total cholesterol, HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate, PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index

During the linear regression analysis, we initially investigated the relationships between uric acid levels and sleep quality and duration, separately. The results revealed that poor sleep quality was associated with lower uric acid levels, whereas short sleep duration was related to higher uric acid levels. Subsequently, we analyzed the relationships between both sleep quality and duration and uric acid levels using a multiple linear regression model. As shown in Table 3, when adjusted for sleep duration, poor sleepers remained associated with lower uric acid levels [b-coefficient: -0.085, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.161 to −0.008, p = 0.030], and short sleep duration was associated with higher serum uric acid levels (b-coefficient: 0.106, 95% CI: 0.031–0.181, p = 0.006). However, no association was found between long sleeper duration and uric acid levels. In addition, uric acid levels were positively associated with overweight and obesity, the TC/HDL-C ratio, WBC count, hypertension, and alcohol consumption habits, but decreased eGFR levels. In addition, age, DM, and smoking were negatively associated with uric acid levels. In the linear regression model, we observed no multicollinearity among the covariates, with a variance inflation factor < 1.4.

Table 3. Associations between sleep quality, sleep duration, and uric acid levels based on the linear regression model.

Variables Univariate Multivariate
β 95% CI p-value β 95% CI p-value
PSQI scale
    ≥ 5 vs < 5 −0.096 −0.187 ~ −0.005 0.038 −0.085 −0.161 ~ −0.008 0.030
sleep duration
    < 7 h vs 7–9 h 0.055 −0.035 ~ 0.145 0.231 0.106 0.031 ~ 0.181 0.006
    ≥ 9 h vs 7–9 h −0.029 −0.388 ~ 0.330 0.874 0.164 −0.107 ~ 0.436 0.236
Age, years −0.009 −0.012 ~ −0.006 <0.001
Sex, male vs female 1.401 1.321 ~ 1.480 <0.001
Obesity, yes vs no 0.518 0.423 ~ 0.614 <0.001
Hypertension, yes vs no 0.227 0.103 ~ 0.351 <0.001
Diabetes mellitus, yes vs no −0.270 −0.042 ~ −0.125 <0.001
TC/HDL ratio 0.235 0.205 ~ 0.264 <0.001
eGFR <60 yes vs no −0.889 −1.021 ~ −0.756 <0.001
WBC count, 10^3/μL 0.035 0.022 ~ 0.049 <0.001
Current alcohol use, yes vs no 0.216 0.120 ~ 0.313 <0.001
Current smoking, yes vs no −0.141 −0.241 ~ −0.042 0.005
Exercise habit, yes vs no −0.005 −0.099 ~ 0.109 0.922
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Interaction between sleep duration and sex, p = 0.157

Interaction between sleep quality and sex, p = 0.364

Interaction between sleep duration and sleep quality, p = 0.153

CI: confidence interval, PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, BMI: body mass index, TC: total cholesterol, HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate

Discussion

In this study, poor sleep quality was related to lower uric acid levels, and short sleep duration was associated with a higher uric acid levels after adjusting for confounders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that concomitantly investigated the association of both sleep quality and sleep duration with uric acid levels. There have been several studies discussing sleep quality and uric acid levels, but sleep duration was not taken into consideration [39, 40, 44, 51]. One case-control study showed that uric acid levels were negatively related to PSQI scores, indicating reduced uric acid levels in subjects with poor sleep quality [39]. Another study conducted with ischemic stroke patients also showed reduced uric acid levels in individuals with poor sleep quality [40]. However, one study, based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that sleep quality, as analyzed by the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire, was not associated with uric acid levels [51]. The discrepancies in the observed relationships between sleep quality and uric acid levels described in these studies may be related to the differences in population ethnicities, definition of sleep quality, and other potentially adjusting confounders, such as medications for chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperuricemia. In the present study, the population was free from the influence of important cardiometabolic medications, and we concurrently considered the influences of both sleep quality and duration, while carefully adjusting for important confounders. As a result, we found that poor sleep quality was associated with lower uric acid levels.

The possible mechanism for the relationship between sleep quality and uric acid remains unclear. Since sleep disturbances are related to increased systemic inflammation and oxidative stress [32], the beneficial aspects of uric acid may play a role among good sleepers. Uric acids have been to have antioxidative and neuroprotective effects [14, 17, 19, 21, 52]. A study conducted by Bowman et. al showed that uric acid is an important endogenous antioxidant in the central nervous system [53]. One Korean study revealed that higher uric acids were related to better antioxidative capacity [54]. Previous studies also elucidated that poor sleep is related to increased oxidative stress in both animal and human models [55, 56]. In addition, higher oxidative stress accompanied by poor sleep may cause a greater antioxidative reaction [34] between uric acid and reactive oxygen species, such as reactions with peroxynitrite or chelation of metal ions [17, 57]. These reactions may cause consumption of uric acid as an anti-oxidant, which may in turn result in lower uric acid levels among poor sleepers [17].

In terms of sleep duration, the results of this study showed that short duration sleepers had higher uric acid levels. Our results were similar to other studies demonstrating an association between short sleep duration and hyperuricemia [41, 42, 44]. The association between short sleep duration and hyperuricemia may be caused by cardiometabolic disorders since studies have shown that short sleep duration increases the risks associated of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension [58–60], which are all common risk factors for hyperuricemia. Although we adjusted for obesity, TC/HDL-C ratio, WBC count, DM, and HTN, short sleep duration remained associated with hyperuricemia. Thus, further potential mechanisms for this relationship must be clarified. The literature has shown that sleep loss is associated with elevated catecholamine levels [61], which may result in increased nucleotide turnover and enhanced production of endogenous uric acid [34]. Furthermore, uric acids act as antioxidants, especially in a hydrophilic environment [17]. However, obesity and metabolic syndrome have shown to be associated with a more hydrophobic environment, which is rich in lipids, resulting in an unfavorable status for the antioxidative effects of uric acid [17, 52]. Thus, uric acid may be relatively limited in its role as an antioxidant and thus may be less likely to be metabolized, resulting in elevated uric acid levels among subjects with short sleep durations.

Our study also found an insignificant relationship between long sleep duration and uric acid levels, when considering sleep quality and other confounding factors. A study based on data from NHANES, from 2005–2006 and 2007–2008, showed no association between long sleep duration and hyperuricemia, whereas a study performed examining an elderly Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk revealed that long sleepers had lower uric acid levels [41, 44]. Therefore, the association between long sleep duration and uric acid level remains inconclusive. The inconsistent results between this study and two other studies [33, 36] may be related to subject selection, such as differences in age, race, inclusion criteria, and covariate adjustments. In addition, the sample size of patients with long sleep duration was relatively small in this study (n = 19) and in another study examining an elderly Mediterranean population (n = 37) [36]. Further studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to clarify the relationship between long sleep duration and uric acid levels.

In this study, the serum uric acid level was also positively related to male gender, BMI, hypertension, lipid profile, decreased eGFR, WBC count and alcohol consumption. These results were consistent with those of previous studies [62, 63]. It is well known that males have higher uric acid level than females [64]. Obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and renal insufficiency result in decreased renal excretion of urate and thus cause increased serum uric acid levels [63]. In addition, obesity, and dyslipidemia also affect uric acid levels through elevated insulin resistance and increased urate production [65, 66]. Also, obesity is related to increased visceral fat accumulation, which may result in increased plasma free fatty acids in hepatic tissue and subsequently lead to elevated uric acid production [67]. Higher WBC counts provoke production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6, which may lead to impaired insulin sensitivity and in turn to higher uric acid levels [68, 69]. As for the negative association between current smoking and uric acid levels, our findings were compatible with those of previous studies. The possible mechanism for this may be (1) inhibition of xanthine oxidase by cyanide during cigarette smoking and (2) increased oxidative stress during tobacco consumption, which results in the depletion of uric acid due to its antioxidative effects [70, 71]. A negative association between uric acid level and diabetes was also observed in this study, which was similar to the findings of a study conducted by Bandaru et al. This inverse relationship may be related to decreased uric acid resorption in the proximal tubule under hyperglycemic status in participants with diabetes [72]. Our study also revealed that uric acid level is inversely related to age. Another study from Chiou et al. showed the same result in a Taiwanese population [73], which found the youngest male group had the highest uric acid level. The opposite association between age and uric acid may be related to lifestyle change, such as dietary and exercise habits, as well as a rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity and overweight among the younger generation in Taiwan [74].

Despite the strength of considering sleep duration, sleep quality, and other important covariates of hyperuricemia concomitantly, some limitations still exist in the present study. First, clarifying the causal relationship between sleep status and uric acid levels is difficult under a cross-sectional design. Second, participants with OSA, which is associated with hyperuricemia and gout [35, 37], was excluded only by self-reported history, due to the unavailability of subjective measurements such as polysomnography, and therefore, its influence may have been underestimated. Third, our participants’ sleep quality and duration were obtained from self-reported questionnaires but not measured using objective medical devices, such as polysomnography or sleep actigraphy. Fourth, the sample size of long sleepers was relatively small, and the relationship between long sleep duration and uric acid levels was underestimated. Fifth, the effects of sleep quality on uric acid were relatively small, but significant, in the present study. These results provide a research direction for further studies exploring the association between sleep and uric acid to clarify their relationship. Finally, socioeconomic status [75] and dietary habits were not examined in this study.

In conclusion, poor sleep quality was found to be related to lower uric acid levels, whereas short sleep duration was associated with higher uric acid levels. The relationship between long sleep duration and uric acid was, however, insignificant.

Supporting information

S1 Data

(XLS)

Click here for additional data file. (1.5MB, xls)

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Prof. Chung-Yi Li for providing statistical consulting services from the Biostatistics Consulting Center, Clinical Medicine Research Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital. The authors thank Enago (https://www.enago.tw/) for assistance with editing the manuscript. We also thank Savana Moore (Foreign Language Center, College of Liberal Arts, National Cheng Kung University) for the assistance of proofreading the revised manuscript.

Data Availability

All relevant data are within the Supporting Information files.

Funding Statement

This research was funded by the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan (NCKUH-10903022). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Decision Letter 0

Xianwu Cheng

29 Jun 2020

PONE-D-20-14422

Association of sleep quality and sleep duration with serum uric acid level in adults

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr Chang

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Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: In this manuscript, the authors investigate the relationship between uric acid levels and both sleep duration and sleep quality, using data from the PSQI. They found that decreases in sleep duration are associated with a higher UA level while poor sleep quality was associated with a lower UA.

While the paper is well-written and the statistics appear appropriate, I am unsure of the clinical significance of the statistical finding. In particular, if you look at Table 1, the UA difference is only 0.1 mg/dL between the two groups. This is statistically difference but not sure it is clinically significant, since both levels are likely in normal range. Then, if you look at Table 3, it would appear that the differences in UA between the two groups, after various corrections, remains quite small. Thus, it is not clear to me that the statistical difference in UA has any clinical outcomes that are important.

Therefore, the paper would be greatly enhanced if the authors had any outcome data related to UA that showed that the small differences make a clinical difference.

Reviewer #2: This article is a report of regression on a large dataset exploring the replationship between uric acid levels and duration of sleep. This article will contribute meaningful evidence to the scientific literature. It appears to be scieintifically developed and a good discussion of the reasons for the relatinship are discussed.

I am recommending that the authors consider adding one variable to their dataset that could be a mediator to the relationship. The authors will also need to edit the grammar and sentence structure in below mentioned sections of the paper.

Introduction:

Line 45: typo “lover”

Line 47: poor grammar/sentence structure

There is no mention of the possible physiological relationship between sleep duration and uric acid levels. This must be delineated to substantiate the scientific underpinnings of the study.

Study Population:

Poor grammar and sentence structure.

Why did you exclude medications? Again, poor writing.

Clinical measurements:

There is no mention of the validity and reliability of the PSQI sleep duration question. What construct is the sleep duration question really accessing? Is subjective report of sleep a valid measure? This must be substantiated.

Validation and measurement specifications and moderators of the uric acid test are not discussed. For example, does diet the day of the test have an impact on the uric acid level? How about time of day the blood was drawn? Was there only one data point for the uric acid level?

Results and Analysis:

Ok, although the PSQI is a valid screen for obstructive sleep apnea. Why didn’t you look at the relationship between OSA and uric acid levels? Do you have any measures of inflammation in your dataset? If so, you might want to look at that relationship.

Discussion:

Really nice review of the literature and discussion, but I think you are missing the point about OSA/obesity/uric acid levels.

**********

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Reviewer #1: Yes: James A Rowley, MD

Reviewer #2: Yes: Carla R. Jungquist

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PLoS One. 2020 Sep 17;15(9):e0239185. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239185.r002

Author response to Decision Letter 0

14 Aug 2020

Thank you very much for your kind letter, along with the constructive comments of the reviewers concerning our manuscript. We have thoroughly considered all the comments of the reviewers and substantially revised our manuscript, and the major revised portions are marked in our revised manuscript. We also respond point by point to the reviewer’s comments as listed in the “Response to Reviewers”, along with a clear indication of the location of the revision. We look forward to hearing from you.

Attachment

Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers_0811_v2 FINAL.docx

Click here for additional data file. (40KB, docx)

Decision Letter 1

Xianwu Cheng

2 Sep 2020

Association of Sleep Quality and Sleep Duration with Serum Uric Acid Levels in Adults

PONE-D-20-14422R1

Dear Dr Chang

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice for payment will follow shortly after the formal acceptance. To ensure an efficient process, please log into Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/, click the 'Update My Information' link at the top of the page, and double check that your user information is up-to-date. If you have any billing related questions, please contact our Author Billing department directly at authorbilling@plos.org.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Xianwu Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Although the original reviewer#2 has delined to review second peer review process (minor revision), all original concerns have been addressed by the authors.

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

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Reviewer #1: No

Acceptance letter

Xianwu Cheng

8 Sep 2020

PONE-D-20-14422R1

Association of Sleep Quality and Sleep Duration with Serum Uric Acid Levels in Adults

Dear Dr. Chang:

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information please contact onepress@plos.org.

If we can help with anything else, please email us at plosone@plos.org.

Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

Kind regards,

PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff

on behalf of

Associate Prof. Xianwu Cheng

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Associated Data

    This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

    Supplementary Materials

    S1 Data

    (XLS)

    Click here for additional data file. (1.5MB, xls)
    Attachment

    Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers_0811_v2 FINAL.docx

    Click here for additional data file. (40KB, docx)

    Data Availability Statement

    All relevant data are within the Supporting Information files.

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