Abstract
Uric acid excretion insufficiency is a major etiology of Hyperuricemia (HUA). While exercise intervention serves as a non-pharmacological uric acid-lowering strategy, acute exercise may cause transient serum uric acid (SUA) elevation, posing risks to HUA patients. This pilot study investigated the acute effects of a single bout of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on SUA and uric acid excretion indices in young men with underexcretion hyperuricemia, aiming to characterize the acute physiological responses, with a focus on potential safety implications. This was a pilot study using a self-controlled pre-post design. Prior to the experiment, 24-hour urine collection and fasting venous blood sampling were conducted. Patients were classified based on 24-hour urinary uric acid (UUA) excretion and fractional excretion of urate (FEUA). A total of 18 patients with Underexcretion Hyperuricemia were finally included in the acute MICT intervention. Blood/urine samples were collected pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 30 min post-intervention. No statistically significant changes were observed in SUA or UUA following the acute exercise intervention (P > 0.05). Notably, key uric acid excretion indices increased significantly at 30 min post-intervention: fractional excretion of urate (FEUA, P < 0.001), UUA/creatinine ratio (UUA/UCr, P < 0.01), and Simkin index (P < 0.001) were all markedly higher than pre-intervention levels. Additionally, blood lactate was significantly elevated immediately post-intervention (P < 0.01), and serum creatinine (SCr) increased significantly both immediately and 30 min post-intervention (both P < 0.05). MICT did not induce a statistically significant acute increase in SUA in this pilot cohort, while uric acid excretion indices increased after exercise. Although no apparent large acute SUA surge was observed within the post-exercise window, these findings are preliminary, and confirmatory controlled trials in larger and more diverse populations are required.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Key R&D Program of China, grant number No. 2018YFC2000604, which enabled the completion of this research. The funding body had no role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation of results, or writing of the manuscript. We also thank all participants for their voluntary contribu-tion and the research team members for their dedicated assistance throughout the study.
Funding
This research was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China, grant number No. 2018YFC2000604. The authors report no involvement in the research by the sponsor that could have influenced the outcome of this work.
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The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Beijing Sport University Ethics Committee (2022179 H). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
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Yu, W., Ma, Y., Yu, Y. et al. Acute effects of moderate intensity exercise on uric acid excretion in underexcretion hyperuricemia. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54882-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54882-6
