Association between hyperuricemia, gout, urate lowering therapy, and osteoarthritis: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis (OA), a chronic and degenerative joint disease characterized by articular cartilage degeneration, sclerosis of subchondral bone, and osteophyte formation, is deemed a leading cause of activity limitation and disability among the elderly people. Serum uric acid (UA) is a terminal metabolite of purine compound, while hyperuricemia (HU) and UA crystals are recognized causes of gout. Several studies have investigated the correlations between HU, gout and OA, but the findings are inconclusive. We are also concerned whether the urate lowering therapy (ULT) can become a potential treatment for OA and intend to undertake this meta-analysis to clarify the related hypotheses. METHODS: Systematic literature search will be conducted on PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science to identify relevant studies up to February 2020 using appropriate search strategies. All citations and abstracts retrieved from literature search will be assessed by two reviewers independently. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale or the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool will be used as appropriate to assess the quality and the risk of bias of the included studies. The heterogeneity and the publication bias of the studies will be investigated accordingly. RESULTS: We propose to undertake this meta-analysis as a feasible approach to clarify the associations between HU, gout or ULT, and OA. DISCUSSIONS: This meta-analysis will help to strengthen our knowledge of the pathogenesis of OA and promote the development of preventive or treatment strategies. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42020168769.