Even moderate alcohol drinking raises hyperuricemia risk in men, study claims

The study findings published in BMJ Open have demonstrated the frequency and degree of alcohol consumption to be the risk factors for hyperuricemia (HUA), especially in males. Moderate drinking was also observed to be a risk factor for HUA among men in the study.

"Different from the benefits of moderate drinking found in other research, HUA risk among moderate drinkers is 1.23 times than that of never drinkers among those in males," the researchers reported. "HUA risk is higher for those who usually drink alcohol l than for those who never drink alcohol among the total population."

"The risk of HUA caused by harmful drinking is the highest, which is 1.81 times that of never-drinkers among the total population and 2.13 times than that of never-drinkers among males," they added, "However, among females, HUA risk was not found to change with drinking."

Hyperuricaemia is becoming a common chronic disease with a worldwide economic and health burden. Considering the widespread consumption of alcohol in the world, some clinicians' review of dietary advice for HUA and gout patients shows that the most general advice is complete avoidance or restriction of alcohol intake, in which this suggested frequency is usually beyond weight loss.

The influence of drinking frequency and degree on hyperuricaemia needs further exploration. Therefore, Siyu Chen, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China, and colleagues aimed to investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption and hyperuricaemia based on a large population.

The researchers enrolled 20,833 participants aged 30–79 years in the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort, Chongqing region. The serum levels of fasting blood glucose, uric acid, and blood lipids were tested. A standardised questionnaire was used to collect basic demographic statistics such as gender, age, education level, marital status, detailed information on alcohol consumption, and family annual income.

The study led to the following findings:

• After controlling for potential confounders, compared with participants who never consumed alcohol, participants who drank 3–5 days per week had the highest HUA risk (OR: 1.51) and those who drank alcohol harmfully had the highest risk of HUA (OR: 1.81).
• Those who drank moderately had no significant association with the risk of HUA. However, among men, compared with participants who never consumed alcohol, those who drank moderately were also a risk factor for HUA (OR: 1.23) and those who drank alcohol harmfully had the highest risk of HUA (OR: 2.13).
• Compared with participants who drank alcohol moderately, the OR for those who drank alcohol harmfully had the highest risk of HUA was 1.88, and the corresponding OR for each level increment in the degree of alcohol consumption was 1.22.
• Among men, compared with participants who drank alcohol moderately, those who drank alcohol harmfully had the highest risk of HUA (OR: 1.93), and the corresponding OR for each level increment in the degree of alcohol consumption was 1.24.

The study demonstrated a positive relation between the frequency and degree of alcohol consumption and the risk of hyperuricemia. This positive connection was obvious among men, but weak among women. Moderate drinking was also revealed to be a risk factor for HUA among men in the study.

"There is a need for further interventional and prospective research to verify the causal relationship and clarify the specific mechanism," they concluded.

Reference:

Chen S, Ding R, Tang X, et alAssociation between alcohol consumption and risk of hyperuricaemia among adults: a large cross-sectional study in Chongqing, ChinaBMJ Open 2023;13:e074697. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074697