Sex-specific association between serum uric acid and prolonged corrected QT interval: Result from a general rural Chinese population

Recently, it has been found that high level of serum uric acid (SUA) is causally related to sudden cardiac death (SCD). We examined the sex-specific associations of SUA with prolonged heart rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval in a general Chinese population. A large sample of 11,206 Chinese research participants aged 35 years and older was recruited from rural areas of Liaoning Province during 2012 to 2013. SUA were divided into quartiles separated for males and females. Prolonged QTc interval, assessed by the Bazett formula, was defined as cut points of 460 ms or longer in females and 450 ms or longer in males. Mean (+/− standard deviation) QTc intervals were 422.1 ± 24.2 ms among 5104 males and 436.1 ± 23.5 ms among 6102 females, respectively. In both sexes, SUA showed significant correlations with QTc interval (both P < 0.001). Among male participants, the highest quartile of SUA (>379 μmol/L) was related to an increased risk for prolonged QTc interval (odds ratios: 1.402, 95% confidence interval: 1.073–1.831) compared to the lowest quartile (≤276 μmol/L) after fully adjustment. However, there were no significant relationships between SUA and prolonged QTc interval among females in all the models. Males with high SUA are prone to a higher risk for prolonged QTc interval. This study provides novel explanation for population-based findings on SUA and SCD, as well as important implications for management strategies for hyperuricemic patients in clinical practice.