Hyperuricemia: An Intriguing Connection to Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes, Kidney Disease, and Hypertension.

Purpose of the review: Our review explores the epidemiology, physiology, and clinical data surrounding the connection between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension.

Recent findings: Compelling physiologic mechanisms have been proposed to explain a causal relationship between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension but clinical studies have given mixed results in terms of whether intervening with hyperuricemia using urate-lowering therapy has any beneficial effects for patients with these conditions. Despite the large amount of research already put into this topic, more randomized placebo-controlled trials are needed to more firmly establish whether a cause-effect relationship exists and whether lowering uric acid levels in patients with these conditions is beneficial.