This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Urate crystal precipitation not linked to CV risk in patients with hyperuricemia
Recently published research shows patients with monosodium urate crystal development did not have a higher risk for cardiovascular events compared with the general population in a Danish cohort.
Researchers studied data from 317 patients with monosodium urate crystals in synovial fluid and compared their outcomes to 317 patients without crystal development. Patients were excluded in the presence of comorbid inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, or a malignancy within 5 years prior to study entry.
Cox proportional hazards analysis showed patients with monosodium urate precipitates had a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.86 for total nonfatal stroke, stroke, myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiovascular (CV) death based on AntiPlatelet Trialists’ Collaboration (APTC) composite CV endpoints compared to the group without synovial crystal precipitation. Analysis including only MI and stroke alone revealed no associations.
Among crystal-exposed individuals, the HR was 0.58 for cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality compared to 0.74 for individuals without synovial crystals. No subgroups associated with CV risk were identified.
Analysis of participants with a history of allopurinol use showed the presence of urate crystals was protective on CV death, but with no significant associations with other outcomes.
Study limitations included a lack of data available on smoking status and the small number of joint samples available compared with the population, according to the researchers. – by Shirley Pulawski
Disclosures: Larsen reports participation in research projects funded by Menarini, with grants paid to institutions of employed, and the receipt of personal fees. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.