Association between oral health and hyperuricemia in Korean adults: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016-2019

Abstract

AbstractHyperuricemia plays an essential role in the development of gout. Despite the clinical importance of hyperuricemia, a direct relationship between oral health and hyperuricemia has not been established. Therefore, we aim to investigate the association between oral health and hyperuricemia in Korean adults.We selected 17,584 subjects from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016–2019 database. Oral health-related variables included the number of dental caries, regular tooth brushing, use of secondary oral products, and regular dental examination. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for hyperuricemia were calculated using a multivariable-adjusted logistic regression model.In all subjects, oral health status with dental caries and oral health behaviors, including tooth brushing; secondary oral products; and regular dental examination, were significantly associated with hyperuricemia. The adjusted OR and 95% CIs for hyperuricemia comparing more than three dental caries with no dental caries were 1.28 (1.08–1.51). The adjusted OR and 95% CIs for hyperuricemia in regular tooth brushing, use of secondary oral products, and regular dental examination were 0.78 (0.67–0.91), 0.91 (0.82–1.00), and 0.86 (0.78–0.95), respectively. Notably, the association between oral health and hyperuricemia was more prominent in male subjects. In addition, when subjects were grouped by the scoring system regarding oral health, the prevalence of hyperuricemia was lower in groups with a better oral health score.In conclusion, we demonstrated that oral health status and behaviors were associated with hyperuricemia, especially in males. Further complementary studies are needed to confirm the definite association between oral health and hyperuricemia.