Citation

Teng GG, Tan CS, Santosa A, Saag KG, Yuan JM, Koh WP. Arthritis Care Res. (2010) 2013; 65(9): 1432-1440.

Affiliation

University Medicine Cluster, Division of Rheumatology, National University Health System, Singapore; Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore. gim_gee_teng@nuhs.edu.sg.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/acr.21999

PMID

23463601

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Western studies suggest that beverages may affect serum urate (SU) levels but data from Asian populations are scarce. We evaluated the associations between beverages and SU levels in Singapore Chinese. METHODS: The study population consisted of 483 subjects from the Singapore Chinese Health Study cohort, aged 45-74 years, recruited between 1993 and 1998. Lifestyle factors, medical histories and diet were collected through in-person interviews. SU and other biomarkers were measured from blood collected between 1994 and 1996. RESULTS: Mean age was 57.6 years and 44% were men. The geometric mean of SU was 321 μmol/L (range 157-719 μmol/L). Mean SU levels increased with alcohol consumption (P for trend = 0.024). The mean SU level of daily alcohol drinkers was 42.6 μmol/L higher than that of non-drinkers. Similarly, increasing frequency of green tea intake was associated with rising SU levels. The highest mean SU level was observed in daily green tea drinkers (difference of 25.0 µmol/L) relative to non-drinkers (P for trend = 0.009). Compared to non-drinkers, daily alcohol drinkers had an almost 5-fold increase in association with hyperuricaemia [odds ratio (OR) = 4.83; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.10-21.23) while daily green tea drinkers had a 2-fold increase in association with hyperuricaemia (OR=2.12, 95% CI=1.03-4.36). The present study did not show elevated levels of SU in individuals who consumed black tea, coffee, fruit juice or soda. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol consumption increases SU levels. The finding that daily drinking of green tea is associated with hyperuricaemia needs validation in future studies. © 2013 by the American College of Rheumatology.

Language: en