The association between smoking and the occurrence of hyperuricemia: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to study the association between smoking and hyperuricemia (HUA).

Methods: By collecting and analyzing clinical data of 3196 patients with undiagnosed HUA at baseline in Dalian Municipal Central Hospital of China between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2021, patients were grouped according to baseline smoking status and smoking index (the number of cigarettes smoked per day × number of years of smoking). Cox regression analysis was used to perform univariable and multivariable analyses of factors that may influence the occurrence of HUA. And further stratification was performed.

Results: The median follow-up time was 3.62 years. A total of 485 (15.2%) patients developed HUA (≥420 μmol/L). The incidence of HUA was significantly higher in the smoking group than in the non-smoking group (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of HUA between the smoking index 1-4 (>0) groups and the smoking index 0 (0) group (p<0.05). Multifactorial Cox regression analyses were performed separately and after adjustment for relevant influences, the results showed that smoking was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of HUA with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.38 (95% CI: 1.11-1.72). And the smoking index groups 401-600 and ≥601 were independent risk factors for the occurrence of HUA, with HRs of 1.46 (95% CI: 1.20-1.70) and 1.53 (95% CI: 1.06-2.22), respectively. The further stratified analysis revealed that smoking remained an independent risk factor for the occurrence of HUA in all subgroups, and the smoking index ≥601 group was also an independent risk factor for the occurrence of HUA, with HRs greater than 1 (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Smoking is an independent risk factor for the occurrence of HUA and is independent of gender, whether a woman is menopausal, body mass index (BMI), and alcohol consumption. The smoking index ≥601 was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of HUA.