Serum uric acid in relation with the metabolic syndrome components and adiponectin levels in Lebanese University students.

BACKGROUND: The relation between serum uric acid (SUA) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) parameters has never been studied in a young Middle-Eastern population. In addition, the relation between SUA and adiponectin was poorly studied.
METHODS: We looked at the relation between SUA, and both adiponectin and MetS components in 381 randomly selected Lebanese university students (201 males and 180 females).
RESULTS: SUA was positively correlated with body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), waist circumference (WC), fasting blood glucose (FPG), triglycerides, total and LDL-cholesterol, and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index (p<0.001 for all variables, p<0.01 for FPG) and inversely correlated with HDL-cholesterol and adiponectin (p<0.001 for both variables). In men, SUA was positively correlated with BMI, WC, SBP, DBP, FPG, triglycerides, total and LDL-cholesterol, and HOMA index and inversely correlated with adiponectin (p<0.001 for all variables, p<0.05 for adiponectin); these correlations persisted after BMI adjustment, for WC, FPG, triglycerides, total-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and HOMA index. In women, SUA was positively correlated with total and LDL-cholesterol (p<0.001), independently of BMI. In a multiple regression analysis, SUA was independently associated with WC, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDLcholesterol and adiponectin in the overall population while, in men, it was associated with triglycerides, total-cholesterol, and WC.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest, in young adults, a gender difference in the relation between SUA and both adiponectin and MetS parameters. In addition, we observed in both genders a strong relation of SUA with total cholesterol. Further studies are needed in larger populations in order to elucidate these findings.