[The serum uric acid level in the Viennese population (author's transl)]

Serum uric acid determinations were made in 2,626 subjects (males and females) within the framework of the "Wiener Gesundheitsstudie 1979", at three distinct age levels (25, 40 and 60 years). The serum uric acid level in male subjects was found to have an arithmetic mean of 6.25 mg/dl, whereas in female subjects the serum uric acid levels, with an arithmetic mean of 4.66 mg/dl, were considerably lower. Levels of more than 7 mg/dl occurred in 3% of the female subjects, whereas hyperuricaemia was detected in 25.4% of the males. In addition, hyperuricaemia was correlated with other risk factors. A relation between hyperuricaemia and coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction was found in the subgroup of the 60 year-old men. There is, furthermore, a pronounced association between hyperuricaemia and a tendency to overweight. The "protective effect" of diabetes mellitus on hyperuricaemia was confirmed only in the subgroup of the 60 year-old men.