Analysis of xanthine oxidase activity and influencing factors in patients with hyperuricemia

Objective To evaluate and compare the difference of xanthine oxidase (XO)activity between patients with hyperuricemia and healthy people, and to analyze the influencing factors. Methods A total of 129 male patients with hyperuricemia were selected to hyperuricemia group, including 112 patients with gout and 17 patients with hyperuricemia alone. Simultaneously, 95 male healthy volunteers were randomly selected as the control group. Serum XO activity was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Independent t-test was used for pairwise comparison, and multivariate linear regression analysis was used to analyze independent influencing factors. Results Compared with the normal control group, the XO activity of patients with hyperuricemia showed a significant increase [(159.6±4.0 vs 138.7±7.5)U/L, P<0.05]. Correlation analysis showed that XO activity positively associated with body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, serum uric acid, creatinine, fasting blood glucose, and uric acid clearance rate level. In the stepwise multivariate regression analysis, XO activity was used as the dependent variable. The results showed that waist-to-hip ratio and uric acid clearance rate were the influencing factors of XO activity. Conclusion Hyperuricemia patients showed elevated XO activity, with obesity, especially abdominal obesity, an independent risk factor for XO activity; suggesting that controlling of abdominal obesity may play a positive role in the treatment of hyperuricemia. Key words: Xanthine oxidase; Hyperuricemia; Obesity; Body mass index; Waist-to-hip ratio