Dose–response relationship of serum uric acid levels with risk of stroke mortality

Introduction Results from the recent meta-analysis suggested that higher serum uric acid (SUA) levels are positively associated with risk of stroke. However, the relationship of SUA levels with risk of stroke is still unclear. Materials and methods Data from prospective cohort studies on SUA levels and risk of stroke mortality was used. Dose–response relationship was assessed by restricted cubic spline model and multivariate random effect meta-regression. Results A non-linear relationship (Pfor non-linearity = 0.004) of SUA levels with risk of stroke mortality was found for men, and the relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of stroke mortality was 1.00 (0.99–1.01), 0.99 (0.94–1.04), 0.98 (0.91–1.06), 1.00 (0.90–1.12), 1.17 (1.09–1.24) and 1.52 (1.33–1.78) for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 mg/dL of SUA levels, respectively. For women, the departure from linearity was not significant (Pfor non-linearity = 0.67), and the RR (95 %CI) of stroke mortality was 1.02 (0.99–1.04), 1.10 (0.97–1.20), 1.15 (0.96–1.37), 1.25 (1.09–1.44), 1.39 (1.28–1.50) for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 mg/dL of SUA levels, respectively. Conclusions Different dose–response relationships of SUA levels with risk of stroke mortality might exist for men and for women. Dose–response relationship of SUA levels with risk of stroke incidence needs to be explored.