Incidence and Risk Factors of Hyperuricemia among 2.5 Million Chinese Adults during the Years 2017–2018

Objective: To assess the incidence and risk factors of hyperuricemia among Chinese adults in 2017–2018. Methods: A total of 2,015,847 adults (mean age 41.2 ± 12.7, 53.1% men) with serum uric acid concentrations assayed on at least two separate days in routine health examinations during 2017–2018 were analyzed. Hyperuricemia was defined as fasting serum urate concentration >420 μmol/L in men and >360 μmol/L in women. The overall and sex-specific incidence rate were stratified according to age, urban population size, geographical region, annual average temperature and certain diseases. Logistic regression analyses were performed to explore risk factors associated with hyperuricemia. Results: 225,240 adults were newly diagnosed with hyperuricemia. The age- and sex-standardized incidence rate per 100 person-years was 11.1 (95%CI: 11.0–11.1) (15.2 for men and 6.80 for women). The risk of hyperuricemia was positively associated with younger age, being male, larger urban population size, higher annual temperature, higher body mass index, lower estimate glomerular filtration rate, hypertension, dyslipidemia and fat liver. Conclusions: The incidence of hyperuricemia was substantial and exhibited a rising trend among younger adults, especially among men. Socioeconomic and geographic variation in incidence were observed. The risk of hyperuricemia was associated with estimate glomerular filtration rate, fat liver and metabolic factors.