The spatial distribution of BUN reference values of Chinese healthy adults: a cross-section study

The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is generally regarded as a significant serum marker in estimating renal function. This study aims to explore the geographical distribution of BUN reference values of Chinese healthy adults, and provide a scientific basis for determining BUN reference values of Chinese healthy adults of different regions according to local conditions. A total of 25,568 BUN reference values of healthy adults from 241 Chinese cities were collected in this study, and 17 geographical indices were selected as explanatory variables. The correlation analysis was used to examine the significance between BUN reference value and geographical factors, then five significant indices were extracted to build two predictive models, including principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector regression (SVR) model, then the optimal model was selected by model test to predict BUN reference values of the whole China, finally the distribution map was produced. The results show that BUN reference value of Chinese healthy adult was characteristically associated with latitude, altitude, annual mean temperature, annual mean relative humidity, and annual precipitation. The model test shows, compared with SVR model, the PCA model possesses superior simulative and predictive ability. The distribution map shows that the BUN reference values of Chinese healthy adult are lower in the east and higher in the west. These results indicate that the BUN reference value is significantly affected by geographical environment, and the BUN reference values of different regions could be seen clearly on distribution map.