Comparative study of serum uric acid level in diabetic, pre-diabetic and non-diabetic individuals in a tertiary care center of nepal

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a global public health problem, with its prevalence escalating each decade. Serum uric acid is said to have a strong correlation with diabetes and might contribute to its risk. The present study aimed to compare the levels of serum uric acid in diabetic, pre-diabetic, and non-diabetic patients visiting a tertiary care center. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 patients visiting medicine OPD of Universal College of Medical Sciences. Of them, 182 were diabetics, 48 were pre-diabetics, and 90 were non-diabetics. Serum uric acid, fasting blood glucose, post-prandial blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin levels were measured. Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-square test and Spearman’s correlation were performed for analysis. Finally, a multiple linear regression analysis was done to adjust for the confounding effects of various parameters. At a 95% confidence level, a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Unadjusted serum uric acid levels were significantly different among non-diabetics, pre-diabetes and diabetes group. Serum uric acid levels also correlated positively but weakly with all the glycemic parameters (p < 0.001). However, after adjusting for the confounders like age, sex, diet, BMI, smoking, alcoholism, and hypertension, serum uric acid levels did not vary significantly among the study groups. There was no significant association of serum uric acid with glycemic parameters. Conclusions: Serum uric acid levels did not vary significantly among the diabetic, pre-diabetic, and non-diabetic individuals. Different modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors need to be considered in hyperuricemia in diabetic patients.