The relationship between elevated serum uric acid and arterial stiffness in a healthy population

Objective This study aims to investigate the relationship between serum uric acid and arterial stiffness in a healthy population. Methods Among the 979 participants, baPWV was non-invasively measured, the circulating levels of uric acid were tested, and the uric acid polymorphisms (rs2231142 and rs11722228) were genotyped. Then, the Mendelian randomization method was employed to test the relationship between serum uric acid and arterial stiffness in a healthy population. Results After adjusting for age, gender, antihypertensive medication, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, urea nitrogen, creatinine and diabetic mellitus, there was a significant allelic difference in uric acid levels for each genotype ( P < 0.0001 for rs2231142; P = 0.007 for rs11722228). However, there were no differences on the potential confounders between the genotypes of rs2231142 and rs11722228 ( P > 0.05). The baPWV was significantly associated with circulating levels of uric acid after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors and other potential confounders ( P = 0.002). However, neither the single polymorphism, nor the accumulation of culprit alleles was associated with baPWV ( P = 0.92 for rs2231142; P = 0.60 for rs11722228; P for trend = 0.77 for the combined analysis of culprit alleles). Conclusion These results do not support the causal role of circulating levels of uric acid in the development of arterial stiffness.