A cross-sectional study on uric acid levels among Chinese adolescents

The prevalence of hyperuricemia is increasing in adults, while the prevalence among adolescents is seldom reported.

A cross-sectional survey by multistage, stratified sampling method was carried out in Shandong Province during 2017-2018. A total of 9371 adolescents aged from 13 to 19 years were randomly sampled and analyzed in this survey.

The overall mean serum uric acid (sUA) concentration was 6.08 ± 1.57 mg/dL and overall hyperuricemia prevalence was 25.4% and 60.5% (when hyperuricemia was defined as sUA ≥ 7 mg/dL or ≥ 5.5 mg/dL). Prevalence were 42.3% (male) and 8.0% (female) when limit was 7 mg/dL and prevalence were 82.1% (male) and 38.4% (female) when limit was 5.5 mg/dL. Male gender, increased body mass index, increased waist circumstance, increased triglycerides, increased fasting blood glucose, increased systolic blood pressure, decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate, and positive family gout history were associated with the enhanced risk of hyperuricemia according to univariate and/or multivariate logistic regression analysis. Food intake frequency of carbonate beverage, mutton, and other kinds varied between hyperuricemia adolescents and normal sUA ones.

The studied adolescent population showed sUA level and hyperuricemia prevalence which are even higher than those of adults in China. The epidemic of youth hyperuricemia may pose a future threat of gout attacks and other hyperuricemia-related diseases, which alarms the public, health professionals and health policy makers to prepare the future health challenges.