Uric Acid, Metabolic Syndrome and Atherosclerosis: The Chicken or the Egg, Which Comes First?

Background: A great debate in literature exists nowadays on the role of uric acid as a marker of cardiovascular and metabolic organ damage or a risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

Methods: The study aimed to determine the relationship among serum uric acid and metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis, by means of carotid intima media-thickness, in a cohort of 811 otherwise healthy overweight/obese subjects, without overt atherosclerosis not using any kind of drug.

Results: Uric acid levels were positively related to male gender, waist circumference, BMI, systolic and diastolic pressure levels, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, the presence of metabolic syndrome and the number of the components of metabolic syndrome and negatively related to HDL cholesterol levels.