Menopause and Hyperuricemia in Women in the Russian Population (Results of the ESSE-RF Study)

Aims. To evaluate the relationship of menopause and its features with hyperuricemia in Russian women. Methods. In this study, we used data from the cross-sectional phase of the epidemiological study “Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Regions of the Russian Federation” (ESSE-RF) conducted in 2013–2014, in 13 regions of Russia. The final random sample size was 12 781 women. According to the interviews, the fact of menopause and the features of climacteric were identified. Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid concentration greater than 360 μmol/L. Age, behavioral risk factors and indicators of health status were assessed as covariates. Logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate assessment of associations. Apart from the assessment of the general sample, the analysis of the groups stratified by obesity, diabetes mellitus and the characteristics of climacteric was carried out. The results of logistic regression analysis are presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results. In the general sample, after adjusting for covariates, menopause was directly associated with hyperuricemia (OR = 1.17; 95% CI 1.06–1.28), the association of hyperuricemia with age was not statistically significant. Menopause was more consistently associated with hyperuricemia in obese compared to non-obese women. In diabetic women, menopause is directly and significantly associated with hyperuricemia, whereas in non-diabetic women there was not the association between menopause and hyperuricemia. Taking into account the features of climacteric, menopause was directly associated with hyperuricemia only in the 4–10 years after the onset of menopause (OR = 1.13; 95% CI 1.02–1.26), in natural menopausal women (OR = 1.18; 95% CI 1.07–1.30) and who were taking hormone replacement therapy (OR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.06–1.43). Conclusions. The results of the study indicate the direct association of hyperuricemia with menopause, but not with the age of women. The stratified analysis has made it possible to identify some features of the association between hyperuricemia and menopause in women with metabolic disorders, as well as to assess the influence of the features of climacteric.