Association between elevated serum uric acid levels and high estimated glomerular filtration rate with reduced risk of low muscle strength in older people: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the interaction between serum uric acid (SUA) levels with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to low muscle strength (LMS) among older people in China. METHODS: Cohort data were obtained from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011 and 2015. A total of 2,822 community-dwelling adults aged 60 and above were enrolled for the follow-up. Serum uric acid was collected after 8 h 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: During the follow-up, a total of 659 individuals were excluded due to the lack of grip strength data, leaving 2,163 participants for analysis. Despite the protective effect of high uric acid against low muscle strength, especially in older females, it is not statistically significant (OR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.45–1.04, P = 0.075). Following the progressive adjustment of covariates, the association between higher eGFR and elevated SUA levels remained statistically significant in females, showing a reduced odds ratio with low muscle strength (OR = 0.82, 95%CI = 0.70–0.97, P = 0.021). However, this trend was not observed in male participants. CONCLUSIONS: This Chinese population-based cohort study suggests that among older females, a higher serum uric acid level combined with a higher estimated glomerular filtration rate is linked to a reduced risk of low muscle strength. This implies that the relationship between high serum uric acid levels and the risk of low grip strength might differ by gender. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-023-04374-3.