Higher serum uric acid with a high eGFR is associated with decreased risk of low muscle strength in aged population: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background We aimed to investigate the interaction between serum uric acid levels with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to low muscle strength (LMS) in a large Chinese elderly population. Methods Cohort data were obtained from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011 and 2015. Two thousand seven hundred forty-five community-dwelling older participants were enrolled for the follow-up. Serum uric acid was collected after 8 hours of fasting, and handgrip strength was measured with a dynamometer. eGFR was calculated with an equation based on the Chinese population. A generalized additive model was employed for interaction analysis and progressively adjusted confounders. Results In this study, we found that men with a low eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) reported higher SUA levels (5.91 ± 1.27) and older (72.53 ± 6.38) than those who had a high eGFR while women share the same difference with a lower eGFR in higher SUA levels (5.00 ± 1.34) and older (72.81 ± 6.83). After progressively adjusting covariates, in females, the OR for higher eGFR with higher SUA level remained significantly with low muscle strength (OR=0.80 95%CI=0.68-0.95 P=0.0102). This correlation, however, was not observed in men. Conclusions This population-based cohort study in Chinese revealed that high serum uric acid level with higher eGFR seems to be significantly associated with a lower risk of low muscle strength in the elderly, especially in females.