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Serum uric acid in asymptomatic adults is weakly associated with carotid artery FDG uptake but not intima-media thickness

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Journal of Nuclear Cardiology Aims and scope

Abstract

Background

This study investigated the association of serum uric acid (UA) with carotid fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) uptake as a marker of inflammatory atherosclerosis.

Methods and results

In this cross-sectional retrospective study of 970 otherwise healthy adults, subjects in the greater serum UA quartiles had higher triglyceride (P < .001), lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < .05), and lower estimated GFR (P < .001). Mean and maximum Target-to-background ratios (TBRs) of carotid FDG uptake measured by positron emission tomography were significantly increased across greater serum UA quartiles (1.35 and 1.57 for Q1, 1.38 and 1.60 for Q2, 1.39 and 1.62 for Q3, and 1.39 and 1.61 for Q4; P = .001 and < .001). Carotid intima-media thickness was not different. Serum UA showed weak but significant correlations with estimated GFR (P < .001), and with mean (P < .001) and maximum carotid TBR (P = .004). Serum UA correlated with mean TBR in male (P = .008) and female subjects (P = .011), in high (≥ 70; P = .015) and low estimated GFR (< 70; P = .035), and in normotensive (P = .001) but not in hypertensive subjects.

Conclusions

Elevated serum UA in asymptomatic adults is associated with increased carotid FDG uptake, which suggests a potential role of UA in carotid inflammatory atherosclerosis.

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Abbreviations

UA:

Uric acid

PET:

Positron emission tomography

SUV:

Standard uptake value

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

hsCRP:

High-sensitive C-reactive protein

ROC:

Reactive oxygen species

FDG:

Fluoro-2-deoxyglucose

IMT:

Intima-media thickness

TBR:

Target-to-background

LDL-C:

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

GFR:

Glomerular filtration rate

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Author Contributions

Y.-S.C. and K.-H.L. designed the study, interpreted the data and wrote the paper; J.-H.B. and S.-H.H. were actively involved in collecting the data; Y.-S.C. and S.-W.M. participated in data analysis; J.-Y.C. and B.-T.K. provided statistical and conceptual advice. All authors gave final approval of the manuscript for submission.

Disclosures

Y.-S.C., K.-H.L., J.-H.B, S.-H.H., S.-W.M., J.-Y.C., and B.-T.K. have nothing to disclose. All authors are affiliated with Samsung Medical Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea

    Young Seok Cho MD, Ji Hoon Bae MD, Seung Hwan Moon MD, Seung Hyup Hyun MD, Joon Young Choi MD, Byung-Tae Kim MD & Kyung-Han Lee MD

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  1. Young Seok Cho MD
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  2. Ji Hoon Bae MD
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Cho, Y.S., Bae, J.H., Moon, S.H. et al. Serum uric acid in asymptomatic adults is weakly associated with carotid artery FDG uptake but not intima-media thickness. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 27, 1537–1546 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-018-1424-3

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