RESUMO
Objective To explore the relationship between serum uric acid(SUA) levels and metabolic syndrome(MS) in middle-aged and elderly people,and to investigate the impacts of age and gender on the relationship between SUA and MS.Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in general population aged over 35 years in rural area of Yiling District,Yichang City in 2007.All subjects were investigated by using the standardized questionnaire,physical and biochemical examinations.MS was defined according to the diagnostic criteria of the latest Chinese guidelines.All subjects were divided into different subgroups based on quartiles of SUA levels and age(35-44 years old,45-59 years old,over 60 years old).The relationship of MS with age and SUA levels were investigated.Results 9354 subjects consisted of 3883 males and 5471 females were included in this study.The percentage of subjects aged over 60 years was 21.1％ in men and 17.4％ in women.The prevalence of MS from the first quartile to the fourth quartile were 3.8％,5.5％,7.9％,15.2％ in males,and 3.1％,5.5％,7.9％,16.7％ in females,respectively.The SUA levels was positively correlated with MS in both sexes after adjusting for other confounding factors.By analyzing associated-subgroups based on age and SUA levels,logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of MS was significantly increased with aging and SUA levels in female subjects.The association between age and MS was significantly weaker in men than in women.Conclusions There is a positive correlation between SUA levels and MS.The associations of MS with age and SUA levels are more closely in women than in men.The risk of MS may be highest in middle-aged and elderly women with high level of SUA.