Serum uric acid is associated with coronary artery calcification in early chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Although uric acid (UA) is regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, whether UA is an independent risk factor contributing to coronary artery calcification in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not well known. We evaluated whether UA level is associated with coronary artery calcium (CAC) score in a predialysis CKD cohort. Methods A total of 1,350 subjects who underwent coronary computed tomography as part of the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease were analysed. We conducted a logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association between UA and the presence of CAC. Results CAC was detected in 705 (52.2\u2009%) patients, and the level of UA was significantly higher in CAC\u2009>\u20090 patients. UA showed a positive relationship with CAC\u2009>\u20090 in age- and sex-adjusted logistic regression analysis (Odds ratio (OR) 1.11, 95\u2009% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.19, P \u2009=\u20090.003). However, UA showed no association with CAC\u2009>\u20090 in multivariate analysis. Further analysis showed that UA showed a positive association with CAC\u2009>\u20090 only in estimated glomerual filtration rate (eGFR)\u2009>\u200960 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (OR 1.23, 95\u2009% CI 1.02–1.49, P \u2009=\u20090.036) but not in eGFR 30–59 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (OR 0.92, 95\u2009% CI 0.78–1.08, P \u2009=\u20090.309) or <\u200930 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (OR 0.92, 95\u2009% CI 0.79–1.08, P \u2009=\u20090.426). Conclusions UA level was significantly associated with CAC in early CKD, but not in advanced CKD.