Elevated Soluble Suppressor of Tumorigenicity 2 Levels in Gout Patients and Its Association with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Indicators.

Purpose: To investigate the association between soluble suppressor of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) levels and cardiovascular disease predictors in patients with gout.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with gout who were tested for sST2 but did not receive uric acid-lowering therapy. These patients were classified into elevated and normal sST2 groups using a cut-off of >49.6 ng/mL and >35.4 ng/mL in males and females, respectively. Correlations between clinical and laboratory variables, sST2 levels, and elevated sST2 level predictors were assessed using linear and logistic regression analyses.

Results: Notably, 27 (11.3%) and 211 (88.7%) of the 238 identified patients had elevated and normal sST2 levels, respectively. Linear regression analysis revealed that male sex (β=-0.190, =0.002), body mass index (BMI) (β=-0.184, =0.002), white blood cell count (β=0.231, <0.001), C-reactive protein (β=0.135, =0.031), and fasting blood glucose (β=0.210, <0.001) were independently associated with sST2 levels. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, male sex [odds ratio (OR) 0.112, =0.001], BMI (OR 0.836, =0.008), creatinine (OR 5.730, =0.024), and fasting blood glucose (OR 1.042, =0.002) predicted elevated sST2 levels. Patients with increased sST2 levels had a significantly higher atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score and a greater proportion of high-risk Framingham Risk Score compared to the normal sST2 group (=0.002 and <0.001).

Conclusion: Patients with gout and elevated sST2 levels have a higher risk of future cardiovascular disorders, which may provide insights into risk stratification and the implementation of intervention strategies.