Background: The effect of serum uric acid (SUA) levels on lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) people remained unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between SUA and lung function.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to measure the SUA levels and lung function in 2797 consecutive eligible individuals. Of these, individuals in our study were divided into two groups, the COPD group (n=1387) and the non-COPD group (n=1410). The diagnosis of COPD is defined as post-bronchodilator first second of forced expiratory volume (FEV₁)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio of less than 0.70. Multivariable adjustment linear models were applied to estimate the effect of SUA levels on FEV₁% predicted, FVC% predicted, and FEV₁/FVC stratified by COPD status.
Results: After multivariable adjustment, each 1 mg/dL increase of SUA was significantly associated with a decrease in FEV₁% predicted (− 1.63%, 95% confidence interval [CI] − 2.37 to − 0.90), FVC % predicted (− 0.89%, 95% CI − 1.55 to − 0.24), and FEV₁/FVC (− 0.70%, 95% CI − 1.10 to − 0.30). In the COPD group, each 1 mg/dL increase of SUA was significantly associated with decreases in FEV₁% predicted (− 1.87%, 95% CI − 2.91 to − 0.84), FVC% predicted (− 1.35%, 95% CI − 2.35 to − 0.34), and FEV₁/FVC (− 0.63%, 95% CI − 1.18 to − 0.08). However, no significant association between lung function and SUA was found among people without COPD.
Conclusion: High SUA levels were associated with lower lung function, especially in COPD patients. However, no statistically significant effect of SUA on lung function was found in people without COPD.
Keyword: serum uric acid, lung function, COPD, non-COPD