Effect of vitamin D administration on serum uric acid concentrations: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Background

It has been suggested the potential uric acid-lowering effect of vitamin D; however, clinical trials evaluating the impact of vitamin D administration on serum uric acid levels are scarce. The aim of this meta-analysis of clinical trials was to examine the effect of vitamin D administration on serum uric acid concentrations.

Methods

A systematic search was performed in PubMed-MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar databases. Randomized clinical trials (parallel or cross-over design) with data at baseline and at the end of intervention. Trials without intervention, without control group, and incomplete data of uric acid concentrations were excluded. A random-effects model and sensitivity analysis generic inverse variance method were used for the meta-analysis.

Results

Meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effects model and sensitivity analysis. The meta-analysis of seven clinical trials, involving 959 participants, indicated a significant reduction of uric acid levels after vitamin D administration (WMD: −16.64 µmol/L, 95% CI: −25.25, −8.03, p <0.001, I² = 74%). Additionally, the impact of this vitamin on uric acid concentrations was robust in the leave-one-out sensitivity analysis.

Discussion

Given that few clinical trials were included, the number of subjects analyzed was limited. However, our results suggest that vitamin D administration is associated with a significant reduction in the levels of serum uric acid in randomized clinical trials.