Association of cognitive function with serum uric acid level among Chinese nonagenarians and centenarians

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the association of risk of cognitive impairment with level of serum uric acid (SUA) among very old people, specifically in a cohort of 694 unrelated Chinese aged 90-108 years Cognitive function was measured using the 30-item Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and SUA level was determined by the uricase-peroxidase method. Cognitive impairment was defined as a score below 18 on the Folstein MMSE. Men had significantly higher cognitive function scores than did women 17 6 +/- 5 6 vs. 14 0 +/- 5 2 (P < 0.05). In the total sample, the prevalence of cognitive impairment was 71 6%, with the rates being 50.9% and 81 6% for males and females, respectively (P < 0.000). Men had significantly higher SUA levels than women. 354.1 +/- 85.7 vs. 303 8 +/- 81 7 mmol/L (P = 0.000) Binary logistic regression analysis indicated an inverse correlation between the risk of cognitive impairment and SUA (OR = 0 996) in men. In conclusion, in male nonagenarians and centenarians, the higher level of SUA is related to the lower risk of cognitive impairment (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved