The Relationship between Uric Acid and Homocysteine Levels based on Alcohol-related Facial Flushing
- Eo Chin Kim1, Jong Sung Kim2, Won Chul Uh1, Soo Young Choi3, Sun Kyung Lee1, Bog Seon Jeong4
- Received April 23, 2015 Accepted September 15, 2015
- ABSTRACT
-
- Background
- This study aimed to determine the correlation between blood uric acid and homocysteine levels, based on alcohol-related facial flushing.
- Methods
- Among male adults who visited a health examination center of a university hospital located in Daejeon, Korea, for a personal health examination from March 2013 to February 2014, 702 subjects were analyzed including 401 subjects without alcohol-related facial flushing and 301 with facial flushing. Pearson’s correlation and stepwise multivariate linear regression analyses were performed between the log homocysteine levels and other variables including uric acid.
- Results
- Uric acid showed a significant positive correlation with log homocysteine (γ =0.166, P=0.001) (ß=0.176; P=0.001) in the non-flushing group. In contrast, none of the variables showed any significant correlations with log homocysteine in the flushing group.
- Conclusions
- Alcohol users not exhibiting alcohol-related facial flushing showed a positive correlation between uric acid and homocysteine levels, whereas those without facial flushing showed no such correlation.
Table 1.
Characteristics of study subjectsa
| Non-flushing group (n=401) | Flushing group (n=301) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age, y | 51.2±9.5 | 51.7±9.4 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 25.2±3.2 | 25.3±2.8 |
| Hypertension | 92 (22.9) | 69 (22.9) |
| Diabetes | 25 (6.2) | 25 (8.3) |
| Current-smoking | 236 (58.9) | 165 (54.8) |
| Drinking amount, drinks/wk | 12.5 (4.0-20.0)b | 7.5 (2.3-19.8)b |
| Uric acid, mg/dL | 6.4±1.3 | 6.3±1.3 |
| Homocysteine, μmol/L | 11.5 (9.8-13.4) | 11.7 (10.3-13.3) |
| Total-cholesterol, mg/dL | 195.8±35.6 | 191.8±35.8 |
| LDL-C, mg/dL | 111.5±30.5 | 110.0±30.1 |
| HDL-C, mg/dL | 48.0 (42.0-54.0)c | 46.0 (40.0-52.0)c |
| Triglyceride, mg/dL | 144.0 (95.5-206.0) | 138.0 (98.5-202.5) |
| AST, mg/dL | 23.0 (19.0-28.0) | 23.0 (20.0-30.0) |
| ALT, mg/dL | 26.0 (20.0-35.0) | 27.0 (20.0-39.0) |
| γ-GTP, mg/dL | 31.0 (19.5-60.5) | 33.0 (20.0-58.0) |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 92.1 (82.9-104.1) | 92.1 (82.6-103.8) |
Table 2.
Correlations between log homocysteine and other variables (non adjusted)
| Non-flushing group (n=401) | Flushing group (n=301) | |
|---|---|---|
| r | r | |
| Age | 0.070 | 0.043 |
| BMI | -0.064 | -0.093 |
| Total cholesterol | 0.111a | 0.019 |
| LDL-C | 0.088 | -0.004 |
| Log HDL-C | 0.068 | -0.013 |
| Log TG | -0.024 | 0.045 |
| Uric acid | 0.166b | 0.087 |
| Log AST | 0.038 | 0.052 |
| Log ALT Log r-GTP | -0.055 0.091 | -0.085 -0.014 |
Table 3.
Log homocysteine by amount of alcohol
| Drinks/wk | Non-flushing group (n) | Flushing group (n) |
|---|---|---|
| ≥0.5, <4 | 2.5±0.3 (84) | 2.5±0.2 (102) |
| ≥4, <8 ≥8 | 2.5±0.2 (70) 2.5±0.3 (247) | 2.5±0.3 (62) 2.5±0.2 (137) |
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