Serum Uric Acid and Its Association with Longitudinal Cognitive Change Among Urban Adults

Uric acid, a waste metabolite among humans, was linked to various cognitive outcomes. We describe sex and age-group specific associations of baseline serum uric acid (SUA(base)) and significant change in SUA(Delta SUA: 1 versus 0 = decrease versus no change; 2 versus 0 = increase versus no change) with longitudinal annual rate of cognitive change among a large sample of urban adults. Data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study, 2004-2009 (visit 1) and 2009-2013 (visit 2) were used. Of 3,720 adults selected at baseline (age range: 30-64 y), complete data were available for N=1,487-1,602 with a mean repeat of 1.5-1.7 visits/participant. Cognitive test domains spanned attention, processing speed, learning/memory, executive function, visuo-spatial/visuo-construction ability, language/verbal, and global cognitive function. SUA was measured at both visits. Multiple mixed-effects regression analyses were conducted. In the total population, a higher SUA(base) was associated with a faster annual rate of decline on a measure of visual memory/visuo-construction ability (the Benton Visual Retention Test) by gamma = 0.07 with a standard error of 0.02, p < 0.001. Among older men, a significant increase in SUA was associated with slower decline on a test of attention/processing speed, namely Trailmaking test, Part A, measured in seconds to completion (gamma = -6.91 +/- 1.73, p < 0.001). In sum, a higher SUA(base) was associated with faster cognitive decline over-time in a visual memory/visuo-construction ability test. Delta SUA had particular beneficial effects of an increasing Delta SUA on the domain of attention/processing speed among older men. More longitudinal studies are needed to examine cognitive domain-specific effects of over-time change in SUA within sex and age groups.