Beer consumption tied to hyperuricemia in both men and women: JAMA

The question here is, Whether there are differences in the association of serum urate levels with the consumption of alcohol, including traditional Japanese beverages, when intake is standardized for the ethanol content. This has been observed in some of the studies previously. Still, these have not standardized the intake unit for ethanol content, and only limited types of alcoholic beverages have been evaluated.

This background was researched in the present study, including data from 78 153 Japanese participants. Demographics, blood tests and lifestyle questionnaires were used as covariates. The beverage unit was standardized to 1 standard drink with 20 g of ethanol.

The study results are:

• There were 78 153 participants of age 47.6 years.
• Forty-five thousand seven hundred fifty-five were regular alcohol drinkers.
• The beer-dominant group had Consistent associations of serum urate levels with alcohol consumption (β coefficients 0.14 mg/dL for men and 0.23 mg/dL for women).
• There was a moderate increase in serum urate levels in the wine-dominant group.

Concluding further, they said the results of our study suggest that extent of the association of serum urate levels with alcohol intake was different for alcoholic beverages even after ethanol content was standardized.

It is crucial to consider alcoholic beverage type and ethanol content as a factor contributing to hyperuricemia.

The strengths were sample size, flexible modelling, and varieties of alcoholic beverages.

The limitations were single-centre study, limited generalizability and potential variations in dietary habits.

Further reading:

Fukui S, Okada M, Rahman M, et al. Differences in the Association Between Alcoholic Beverage Type and Serum Urate Levels Using Standardized Ethanol Content. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e233398. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.3398