Serum uric acid in US adolescents: distribution and relationship to demographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors

INTRODUCTION: Despite being associated with multiple disease processes and cardiovascular outcomes, uric acid (UA) reference ranges for adolescents are lacking. We sought to describe the distribution of UA and its relationship to demographic, clinical, socioeconomic, and dietary factors in US adolescents. METHODS: A nationally representative subsample of 1,912 adolescents 13-18 y of age, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 2005 2008 representing 19,888,299 adolescents, was used for this study. Percentiles of the distribution of UA were estimated using quantile regression. Linear regression models examined the association of UA with demographic, socioeconomic, and dietary factors. RESULTS: The mean UA level was 5.14 +/- 1.45 mg/dl. It increased with increasing age and was higher in non-Hispanic whites, male sex, those with higher BMI z-scores, and those with higher systolic blood pressure (BP). In fully adjusted linear regression models, sex, age, race, and BMI were independent determinants of higher UA. DISCUSSION: This study defines serum UA reference ranges for adolescents. It also reveals some intriguing relationships between UA and demographic and clinical characteristics that warrant further studies to examine the pathophysiological role of UA in various disease processes.