Hyperuricemia predicts mortality with chronic kidney disease

A recent study revealed that high levels of uric acid in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are linked to a higher risk of death. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine on July 13, 2026, analyzed data from 794 CKD patients. Lead author Rasha Babiker and her team discovered that 44.8% of the patients exhibited hyperuricemia, an elevated uric acid level. While hyperuricemia showed a trend towards increasing the odds of cardiac events, it was found to independently predict mortality.

The study also noted a dose-response relationship between serum uric acid levels and adverse outcomes. For every 100-μmol/L rise in serum uric acid, the risk of cardiac events and mortality increased. Patients in the highest uric acid quartile faced more than three times the mortality risk compared to those in the lowest quartile. In summary, hyperuricemia in CKD patients appears to act as a graded marker of systemic vulnerability, with progressively higher uric acid concentrations correlating with higher mortality risk.