Association Between the Risk of Hyperuricemia and Changes in Branched-Chain Amino Acids Intake Over Twelve Years: A Latent Class Trajectory Analysis From the China Health and Nutrition Survey, 1997–2009

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify dietary branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) consumption trajectories in Chinese adults and to evaluate their association with the risk of hyperuricemia (HU). METHODS: Cohort data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey 1997–2009 were adopted in this research. A total of 6,810 participants aged ≥18 years were included in this study. Participants were designated into four subgroups on basis of the trajectories of dietary BCAA consumption. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to discuss the relationships between varied trajectories and the risk of HU after adjusting potential confounders. The intermediary effect of differential blood indexes between the trajectories and the risk of HU was explored with mediation analysis. RESULTS: Four distinct trajectory groups of dietary BCAA consumption were identified. Compared with the low stable trajectory group, high to low trajectory group was greatly related to an increased risk of HU (HR 1.35 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.79)) with modification for covariates. Total cholesterol (TC), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and triglyceride (TG) partially regulated trajectories and HU. CONCLUSION: Gradually decreasing dietary BCAA intake increased the risk of HU, which is, at least, partially mediated by TC, HbA1c, FBG, and TG levels.