Association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and hyperuricemia: TCLSIH prospective cohort study

• Published in: Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases Vol. 31; no. 7; pp. 1993 - 2003
• Main Authors: Zhang, Tingjing, Gan, Shinan, Ye, Mingxu, Meng, Ge, Zhang, Qing, Liu, Li, Wu, Hongmei, Gu, Yeqing, Zhang, Shunming, Wang, Yawen, Wang, Xuena, Sun, Shaomei, Wang, Xing, Zhou, Ming, Jiao, Huanli, Jia, Qiyu, Song, Kun, Wu, Yuntang, Niu, Kaijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 30.06.2021
• Subjects: Cohort study; Epidemiology; Hyperuricemia; Ultra-processed foods; Hyperuricemia; Ultra-processed foods; Epidemiology; Cohort study
• ISSN: 0939-4753; 1590-3729
• DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2021.04.001

Emerging evidence suggests that consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) plays a role in the development of chronic diseases, but evidence of their influence on hyperuricemia is limited. We therefore designed a cohort study to examine whether UPF consumption increase the risk of hyperuricemia in adults. This was a prospective study (n = 18,444) performed in Tianjin, China from 2013 to 2019. Participants that were aged 18 years and over and with no history of hyperuricemia, were followed up for 1–6 years (median follow-up duration = 4.2 years). UPF consumption was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Hyperuricemia was defined as serum uric acid levels ≥7.0 mg/dL in males and ≥ 6 mg/dL in females. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the association between UPF consumption and the risk of hyperuricemia. Restricted cubic spline regression was used to estimate the dose–response association between UPF consumption and risk of hyperuricemia. During follow-up period, the incidence of hyperuricemia was 20.3% in general population (27.7% in males and 13.2% in females). In the final multivariate models, the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for hyperuricemia across energy adjusted UPF consumption quartiles were 1.00 (reference), 1.04 (0.94, 1.14), 1.11 (1.01, 1.23), 1.16 (1.05, 1.28) (p for trend = 0.02) in general population. This population-based prospective cohort study suggests that increased consumption of UPF is independently associated the risk of hyperuricemia. •Ultra-processed foods dominate the food supplies in countries, and they present an unbalanced nutritional composition.•Hyperuricemia is the precursor of gout and has doubled worldwide during the last few decades.•This is the first study to demonstrated that ultra-processed foods consumption was positively associated with hyperuricemia.