Association between serum uric acid and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in community patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background To investigate whether SUA is associated with NAFLD in men and women with T2DM. Methods This cross-sectional study enrolled patients with T2DM at Shanxi High-Tech Development Zone Central Hospital (June 2011 to September 2017). Patients were stratified according to gender and presence/absence of NAFLD. Parameters associated with NAFLD were identified using multivariate stepwise linear regression and univariate/multivariate logistic regression. Results Among 597 patients (325 males) enrolled, 352 had NAFLD. SUA was higher in the NAFLD group than in the non-NAFLD group for both men and women ( P  < 0.001). Multiple linear regression showed that body mass index (positively), triglycerides (positively) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (negatively) were independently related to SUA ( P  < 0.001). Univariate logistic regression revealed increased odds of NAFLD for SUA tertiles 2 ( P  = 0.022) and 3 ( P  = 0.001) in women and tertile 3 ( P  = 0.039) in men. After adjustment for multiple clinical parameters, SUA tertiles were significantly associated with NAFLD for tertile 3 in women ( P  = 0.014), although there were trends toward associations for tertile 2 in women ( P  = 0.074) and tertiles 2 and 3 in men ( P  = 0.085 and 0.054, respectively). Conclusion SUA is not independently associated with NAFLD in men or women with T2DM after rigorous adjustment for other metabolic parameters.