Objectives: This review presents the information available on the role of uric acid (UA) on metabolic risk and on the link between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome.
Methods: Key papers for inclusion were identified by a PubMed search and articles were selected according to their relevance for the topic, according to the authors' judgment.
Results and conclusions: An elevated UA is both strongly associated and predictive of the metabolic syndrome, and increasing evidence suggests that UA may have a causal role. The classical viewpoint that UA is simply an innocuous marker of metabolic syndrome that should not even be measured will likely have to be modified. Lowering UA may be a novel treatment target for preventing diabetes and justify prospective clinical trials on the possible benefits of the measurement and lowering of serum UA on multiple chronic disease end points.