The increasing prevalence of
hyperuricemia has been recognized as an emerging public health concern in both developed and developing countries.
Hyperuricemia is a metabolic condition characterized by an elevated serum
uric acid, and associated with renal damage,
diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and
cardiovascular diseases. Although human genetic variation has been recognized as
a factor, posttranslational cellular processes and
glycan biomarkers have not been studied extensively for susceptibility to
hyperuricemia. We evaluated whether
immunoglobulin (Ig)G N-
glycans play a role in
hyperuricemia in the general population. This cross-sectional study enrolled 635 participants (208 men and 427 women), ages ≥18 years, from a community-based population in Beijing, China. The
IgG N-
glycan composition of serum was analyzed by an ultraperformance liquid chromatography method. The prevalence of
hyperuricemia observed in this sample was 5.98% (14.9% in men and 1.6% in women). Serum
uric acid level was positively correlated with
glycan peaks (GP)1, GP2,
GP4, GP6, GP10, and GP11, whereas it was negatively correlated with GP12, GP13, GP14, GP15, GP18, and GP20. The combination of GP9, GP10, body mass index, and gender distinguished individuals with
hyperuricemia from subjects without
hyperuricemia, with an area under the curve value of 0.849 (95% confidence interval: 0.784-0.915). These findings collectively suggest a possible link between
hyperuricemia and
IgG N-
glycans, which might be potentially mediated through
inflammation-related mechanisms. Additional research on
glycan biomarkers in independent and community-based population samples might allow the development of
glycan diagnostics for
hyperuricemia and
gout in the future.