Urate-lowering Therapy and Chronic Kidney Disease Development in Patients with Gout

Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a global health concern. Many studies have identified an association between hyperuricemia and CKD, and some studies have revealed that urate-lowering therapy (ULT) can attenuate CKD progression. However, only a few studies have explored the role of ULT in the prevention of new onset CKD. Methods: To compare the risk of incident CKD between users and nonusers of ULT in patients with gout, we conducted a 13-year population-based retrospective cohort study. Overall incidence of CKD was compared between 7126 ULT users and 7126 matched ULT nonusers. Results: The CKD incidence rate for both the users and nonusers of ULT was 1.7 per 100 person-years, after adjusting for sex, age, region of residence, comorbidities, and medications used. No significant difference in CKD risk (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88-1.07) was noted between the ULT users and nonusers. In the subgroup of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and without hypertension (HT), ULT tended to be associated with lower risk of incident CKD (aHR: 0.52; 0.95% CI: 0.28-0.97). Compared with the risk of new onset CKD in patients receiving xanthine oxidase inhibitors, those receiving uricosuric agents seemed to have a lower risk of developing CKD (aHR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67-0.99). Conclusion: This population-based cohort study indicated that ULT is not associated with lower risk of CKD development. However, in the subgroup of patients with DM and without HT, ULT is associated with significantly lower risk of incident CKD.