Association of serum uric acid with prognosis in patients with myocardial infarction: an update systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The prognostic significance of serum uric acid (SUA) in individuals who have experienced myocardial infarction (MI) remains a subject of academic debate. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the occurrence of immediate and long-term adverse outcomes in individuals with elevated levels of uric acid (UA) following a diagnosis of MI. METHOD: This study conducted a literature search from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Medline, Cochrane Library, Emcrae, and Scopus to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prognostic impact of MI with a hyper SUA to assess short-term (30-day or in-hospital) and long-term mortality, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and its adverse event rate in relation to SUA. The literature search was conducted up until April 2023. A random effects model and risk ratio (RR) were used as epidemiological indicators. For indicators with low disease rates, treatment intensity was reduced and RR was considered equivalent to odds ratio (OR). Hazard Ratio (HR), RR, and OR extracted from the data were simultaneously subjected to multivariable adjustment for confounding factors. In addition, P values for all original hypotheses were extracted and a meta-analysis was conducted. High SUA was defined as SUA levels equal to or greater than 420 μmol/L (7.0 mg/dL) for males and equal to or greater than 357 μmol/L (6.0 mg/dL) for females. The quality of the literature was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS). RESULTS: This comprehensive study included a total of 41 investigations, involving a large sample size of 225,600 individuals who had experienced MI. The findings from the meta-analysis reveal that patients diagnosed with hyperuricemia have significantly increased rates of short-term mortality (RR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.86, 2.48) and short-term incidence of MACE (RR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.65–2.11). Furthermore, long-term adverse outcomes, including all-cause mortality (RR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.40–1.51) and incidence of MACE (RR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.35–1.52), were also found to be higher in this specific patient population. CONCLUSION: Patients diagnosed with MI and elevated SUA levels exhibit a heightened incidence of MACE during their hospital stay. Furthermore, these individuals also experience elevated rates of in-hospital mortality and mortality within one year of hospitalization. However, it is important to note that further randomized controlled trials are necessary to validate and authenticate these findings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-023-03523-1.