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Exploration into Uric and Cardiovascular Disease: Uric Acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) Project, A Study Protocol for a Retrospective Observational Study

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Abstract

The relevance of cardiovascular role played by levels of serum uric acid is dramatically growing, especially as cardiovascular risk factor potentially able to exert either a direct deleterious impact or a synergic effect with other cardiovascular risk factors. At the present time, it still remains undefined the threshold level of serum uric acid able to contribute to the cardiovascular risk. Indeed, the available epidemiological case studies are not homogeneous, and some preliminary data suggest that the so-called “cardiovascular threshold limit” may substantially differ from that identified as a cut-off able to trigger the acute gout attack. In such scenario, there is the necessity to clarify and quantify this threshold value, to insert it in the stratification of risk algorithm scores and, in turn, to adopt proper prevention and correction strategies. The clarification of the relationship between circulating levels of uric acid and cardio-nephro-metabolic disorders in a broad sample representative of general population is critical to identify the threshold value of serum uric acid better discriminating the increased risk associated with uric acid. The Uric acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) project has been designed to define, as primary objective, the level of uricemia above which the independent risk of cardiovascular disease may increase in a significantly manner in a general Italian population.

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Acknowledgements

URRAH Project participating centres and investigators: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna. Claudio Borghi (coordinator), Arrigo F.G. Cicero. Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e Sperimentali, Università di Brescia. Maria Lorenza Muiesan (coordinator), Enrico Agabiti Rosei, Massimo Salvetti. Dipartimento di Geriatria e Terapia Intensiva Geriatrica, Università di Firenze, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, Firenze. Andrea Ungar (coordinator), Giulia Rivasi. Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università degli Studi di Genova e Policlinico Universitario San Martino-IST Genova. Roberto Pontremoli (coordinator), Francesca Viazzi. Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica, Sanità Pubblica, Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila. Giovambattista Desideri. Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Ospedale S Gerardo dei Tintori, Monza (MB). Guido Grassi (coordinator), Michele Bombelli, Rita Facchetti. Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica, Sanità Pubblica, Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila. Claudio Ferri (coordinator), Bruno Bernardino. Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”. Ferruccio Galletti (coordinator), Lanfranco D’Elia. Dipartimento di Medicina, Università di Padova. Paolo Palatini. Dipartimento di Medicina, Università di Padova. Edoardo Casiglia (coordinator), Valerie Tikhonoff. Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università degli Studi di Palermo. Carlo M. Barbagallo. Dipartimento di Medicina, Ospedale di Assisi (PG). Paolo Verdecchia. Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale, Università di Pisa. Agostino Virdis (coordinator), Stefano Masi. Azienda Ospedaliera “Bianchi-Melacrino-Morelli” & CNR-IFC, Reggio Calabria. Francesca Mallamaci. Dipartimento di Scuola medica Salernirtana, Università di Salerno. Massimo Cirillo. Dipartimento di Medicina, Ospedale Ca’ Foncello, Azienda ULSS 2 Marca Trevigiana, Treviso. Marcello Rattazzi (coordinator), Paolo Pauletto. Dipartimento di Emergenza e Trapianto d’Organo, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico, Università “Aldo Moro”, Bari. Pietro Cirillo (coordinator), Loreto Gesualdo. Ospedale Santa Maria della Misericordia, Rovigo. Alberto Mazza. Dipartimento Cardio-toraco-vascolare A. De Gasperis, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milano. Cristina Giannattasio (coordinator), Alessandro Maloberti. Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Molecolare, Università di Roma Sapienza, Ospedale S Andrea, Roma. Massimo Volpe (coordinator), Giuliano Tocci. Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Chirurgia e Odontoiatria, Scuola Medica Salernitana, Università di Salerno. Guido Iaccarino. Dipartimento di Neuroscienze ed Organi di Senso, Università degli Studi di Bari. Pietro Nazzaro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Giovambattista Desideri

  2. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Agostino Virdis

  3. Studium Patavinum, Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Edoardo Casiglia

  4. Department of Medical and Surgical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Claudio Borghi

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  1. Giovambattista Desideri
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  2. Agostino Virdis
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  3. Edoardo Casiglia
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  4. Claudio Borghi
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Consortia

On behalf of the Working Group on Uric Acid and Cardiovascular Risk of the Italian Society of Hypertension

  • Arrigo F. G. Cicero
  • , Maria Lorenza Muiesan
  • , Enrico Agabiti Rosei
  • , Massimo Salvetti
  • , Andrea Ungar
  • , Giulia Rivasi
  • , Roberto Pontremoli
  • , Francesca Viazzi
  • , Giovambattista Desideri
  • , Guido Grassi
  • , Michele Bombelli
  • , Rita Facchetti
  • , Claudio Ferri
  • , Bruno Bernardino
  • , Ferruccio Galletti
  • , Lanfranco D’Elia
  • , Paolo Palatini
  • , Edoardo Casiglia
  • , Valerie Tikhonoff
  • , Carlo M. Barbagallo
  • , Paolo Verdecchia
  • , Agostino Virdis
  • , Stefano Masi
  • , Francesca Mallamaci
  • , Massimo Cirillo
  • , Marcello Rattazzi
  • , Paolo Pauletto
  • , Pietro Cirillo
  • , Loreto Gesualdo
  • , Alberto Mazza
  • , Cristina Giannattasio
  • , Alessandro Maloberti
  • , Massimo Volpe
  • , Giuliano Tocci
  • , Guido Iaccarino
  •  & Pietro Nazzaro

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Agostino Virdis.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Investigators of Working Group on Uric Acid and Cardiovascular Risk of the Italian Society of Hypertension are listed in the Acknowledgments section.

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Desideri, G., Virdis, A., Casiglia, E. et al. Exploration into Uric and Cardiovascular Disease: Uric Acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) Project, A Study Protocol for a Retrospective Observational Study. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev 25, 197–202 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-018-0250-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-018-0250-7

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