Associations between vitamin C intake and serum uric acid in US adults: Findings from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2016

Abstract

Backgrounds Dietary factors has been found to influence serum uric acid (SUA) levels. We further explored the associations between dietary and supplemental vitamin C intake and SUA in a large population-based study. Methods The cross-sectional study included 6308 participants (3146 males and 3162 females) aged ≥20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2016 in the United States. The dietary vitamin C was log-transformed for statistical analysis. Hyperuricemia was defined as SUA concentrations >420 umol/L in males or >360 umol/L in females. The associations of dietary vitamin C and supplemental vitamin C with SUA levels and hyperuricemia risk were evaluated using weighted linear regression models and weighted multivariate logistic regression models, and a subgroup analysis stratified by gender was also conducted. Results In this large-scale database study, there was a negative association between dietary vitamin C (log transformed) and SUA levels in US adults (β = −7.27, 95% CI: −11.58, −2.97). The inverse relationship existed among males but not females (P for interaction = 0.02). There was inverse correlation between dietary vitamin C (log transformed) and hyperuricemia risk (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.81), especially in males compared to females determined through an interaction test (P = 0.04). There were no associations between supplemental vitamin C and SUA levels (β = 1.00 (95% CI: −4.44, 6.44) or hyperuricemia risk (OR = 0.98 (95% CI: 0.78, 1.24). High-dosage supplemental vitamin C (>300 mg) and hyperuricemia risk were not associated (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.69, 1.56). Conclusions This study demonstrated that there were negative associations between dietary vitamin C and SUA levels and hyperuricemia risk among US adults. The inverse correlations between dietary vitamin C and hyperuricemia risk were more significant in males compared to females. There were no associations between supplemental vitamin C and SUA levels or hyperuricemia risk.