Is uric acid an indicator of metabolic syndrome in the first-degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes?

To determine whether uric acid levels are associated with the components of metabolic syndrome and whether uric acid is a significant factor for development of metabolic syndrome in the first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic patients as high risk group. A total of 694 (182 male and 512 female, aged 30-69 years) first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic patients during 2007-2011 were enrolled. The height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, lipid profile and uric acid concentrations were measured. Metabolic syndrome was defined by NCEP-ATP III. Uric acid was associated with waist circumference, blood pressure, triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol level in both sexes (r=0.1-0.3, P<0.05). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the fourth quartile of uric acid (64.4% of male and 60.2% of female population) was significantly more than those in the first (25.5% of male and 31.2% of female population) and second quartiles (33.3% of male and 32.0% of female population). The mean of uric acid in people with metabolic syndrome was significantly higher than in those without (6.6±1.2 mg/dL vs. 5.8±1.2 mg/dL; P=0.0001).The age-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of uric acid for metabolic syndrome in univariate analysis were [1.60 (1.23-2.07); P=0.008] for men and [1.61 (1.34-1.92); P=0.0001] for women but the effect of uric acid in multivariate logistic regression was not significant. Uric acid is associated with majority of the metabolic syndrome components. People with metabolic syndrome have higher uric acid levels. However, uric acid probably is not an independent factor to predict the metabolic syndrome.