Sex-Specific Association between Serum Uric Acid and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Across-sectional study was performed in 541 type 2 diabetic patients to determine the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and NAFLD in type 2 diabetic patients. Clinical parameters including SUA were determined and NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography. SUA was significantly higher in type 2 diabetic subjects with NAFLD than in those without NAFLD in men, but not in women. Furthermore, the prevalence rate of NAFLD increased progressively across the sex-specific SUA tertiles only in men (37.9%, 58.6%, and 72.6%, resp., P for trend < 0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, the odd ratios (95% CI) for NAFLD were 1 (reference), 2.93 (95%CI 1.25–6.88), and 3.93 (95% CI 1.55–9.98), respectively, across the tertiles of SUA in men. Contrastingly, SUA levels in women were not independently associated with the risk of NAFLD. Our data suggests that SUA is specifically associated with NAFLD in male type 2 diabetic subjects, independent of insulin resistance and other metabolic factors.