Association Between Serum Uric Acid and Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosed using HbA1c Criteria Among Chinese Adults in Qingdao, China

ObjectiveTo determine whether elevated serum uric acid (UA) levels are associated with type 2 diabetes diagnosed using HbA1c levels among Chinese adults.MethodsWe conducted two population-based cross-sectional studies in Qingdao in China in 2006 and 2009. A total of 6894 (39.4% men) subjects aged 35–74 years were included in the data analysis. Newly diagnosed diabetes was defined as HbA1c level of ≥6.5%, and prediabetes was classified as HbA1c level between 5.7% and 6.4% according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to assess the association between UA and prevalence of type 2 diabetes defined using Glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c levels.ResultsSubjects with prediabetes had higher UA levels than those with normal glucose tolerance, newly diagnosed diabetes, and known diabetes, with corresponding values of 325.1 (82.5) μmol/L, 310.9 (84.2) μmol/L, 291.3 (81.7) μmol/L, 305.2 (83.6) μmol/L, respectively (P<0.001 for all comparisons). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that UA was a possible predictor for the prevalence of type 2 diabetes diagnosed using HbA1c levels, and the second quartile of UA levels had a higher odds ratio (OR: 4.088; 95% CI: 2.900-5.765) for HbA1c than the other quartiles after adjusting for age, body mass index, sex, marital status, education, income, alcohol consumption, smoking, and cardiometabolic parameters.ConclusionSerum UA is significantly associated with type 2 diabetes diagnosed using HbA1c levels, independent of other cardiometabolic parameters.