Korean J Fam Pract 2020; 10(3): 208-214  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2020.10.3.208
Relationship between Serum Uric Acid Level and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Korea Adults: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017
Seungyong Lim, Nayeon Moon*
Department of Family Medicine, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
Nayeon Moon
Tel: +82-2-3784-1120, Fax: +82-2-2225-4374
E-mail: utodise0210@naver.com
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1578-4947
Received: September 9, 2019; Accepted: May 13, 2020; Published online: June 20, 2020.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Over the last few decades, the incidence of hyperuricemia has increased. Recently, the incidences of gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia have been rapidly increasing in Korea. A correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) level and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol has already been identified, but it has been rarely studied in the Korean population. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between serum uric acid level and LDL cholesterol using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017).
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 8,127 Korean adults aged 19–79 years. Individuals were cancer excluded. Participants were classified as having hyperuricemia if SUA levels were ≥7.0 mg/dL in men and ≥6.0 mg/dL in women. The correlation between SUA level and LDL cholesterol was analyzed by complex sample linear regression analysis.
Results: In men, LDL cholesterol was higher in participants with hyperuricemia (120.6±1.61) than in normal individuals (114.3±0.84) (P<0.001). In women, LDL cholesterol was higher in participants with hyperuricemia (125.6±3.25) than in normal individuals (117.6±0.69) (P=0.0149). We used 3 models with progressive degrees of adjustment. Model 1 was adjusted for age, gender, alcohol, smoking, and body mass index. Model 2 was further adjusted for hypertension and diabetes. Model 3 was further adjusted for dyslipidemia, stroke, myocardial infarction or angina, and liver cirrhosis. After adjusting for potential confounders, LDL cholesterol was higher in the hyperuricemic group than in the normal group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The study results confirm that a positive correlation exists between serum uric acid level and LDL cholesterol.
Keywords: Uric Acid; Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol; Lipid Profile; Korean Adults
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