Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase is associated with the elevated uric acid levels in normotensive Chinese adults

• Association between GGT and UA was studied in normotensive adults.
• UA was increased in parallel with increasing serum GGT concentrations.
• Serum GGT was significantly positively associated with UA levels.
• Serum GGT independently contributed to the elevated UA levels.
• Serum GGT was related to blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors.

BackgroundAlthough both serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and uric acid are correlated with hypertension, studies on the association between serum GGT and uric acid in normotensive individuals are rare. In this study, we tried to reveal this relationship in normotensive Chinese adults.MethodsFour hundred seven normotensive adults were recruited. The subjects were divided into 3 subgroups according to serum GGT tertiles. Anthropometric parameters as well as systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), uric acid, GGT, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood glucose, blood lipids, and fasting insulin were measured. Insulin resistance was assessed using HOMA-IR index.ResultsUric acid was increased in parallel with increasing serum GGT (P < 0.001). After correction for age, sex, smoking and alcohol consumption, serum GGT was positively associated with uric acid (r = 0.42, P < 0.001), SBP (r = 0.22, P < 0.001), and DBP (r = 0.19, P < 0.001). When compared with lowest GGT tertile, the odds ratio of the middle tertile for the increased serum uric acid was 3.43 (95% CI, 1.39–8.47) and 7.29 (95% CI, 1.57–33.82) for the highest tertile after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption, SBP, DBP, creatinine and HOMA-IR.ConclusionsSerum GGT is strongly associated with the increased uric acid concentrations in normotensive Chinese adults.