Relationship between serum uric acid level and mild cognitive impairment in Chinese community elderly

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the association between SUA levels within a normal to high range and the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among community elderly. METHODS: The present study was based on 2102 community elderly from a cross-sectional study conducted in a representative urban area of Beijing between 2009 and 2010. The mean age were 71.2 ± 6.6 years old, 59.7% were female. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to assess cognitive function by trained neurology doctors. RESULTS: The prevalence of hyperuricemia and MCI was 16.7% and 15.9% respectively. With the increase of SUA levels, the prevalence of MCI showed a strong decreasing linear trend. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed ORs for MCI were 1.01(95% CI: 0.69–1.48), 1.50(95% CI: 0.85–2.64), 1.65(95% CI: 1.12–2.43) and 1.53(95% CI: 1.00–2.33), 1.84(95% CI: 1.27–2.90), 1.92(95% CI: 1.02–3.35) for the second, third and highest quarters among men and women respectively (with the lowest quartile as the reference). CONCLUSIONS: Higher SUA levels, when in the normal range, were positively associated with cognitive function among Chinese community elderly, but this association was not robust among participants with hyperuricemia. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12883-017-0929-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.