Serum uric acid is not associated with diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Introduction: Although epidemiologic studies suggest a link between serum uric acid (SUA) and vascular complications in diabetes, the relationship of uric acid with diabetic nephropathy remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the relationship between SUA and the degree of albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Materials and methods: The cross-sectional study included 223 T2D patients. Nephropathy was graded as follows: nor-moalbuminuria, urinary albumin excretion (UAE) less than 30 mg per gram of creatinine (mg/g Cr); microalbuminuria, 30 to 300 mg/g Cr; or macroalbuminuria, more than 300 mg/g Cr. SUA was measured using a uricase-peroxidase enzymatic method.Results: The degree of nephropathy was as follows: normoalbuminuria in 163 subjects, microalbuminuria in 45 subjects, and macroalbuminuria in 15 patients. SUA did not differ significantly according to the degree of albuminuria. In addition, multivariable analysis demonstrated that hyperuricemia was not an independent predictor of neither microalbuminuria nor macroalbuminuria in T2D patients.Conclusion: Hyperuricemia does not reflect the severity of nephropathy in T2D patients.