Elevated serum uric acid, hyperuricaemia and dietary patterns among adolescents in mainland China

BackgroundElevated serum uric acid concentrations have been associated with metabolic syndrome. However, only limited information is available on the prevalence of hyperuricaemia in adolescents. Therefore, the aim of our cross-sectional study was to study the prevalence of hyperuricaemia and dietary patterns in adolescents aged 13–16 years living in Yangzhou, China.MethodsAdolescents were asked to complete a 20-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and provide an overnight fasting finger-prick sample. Principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was used to derive the dietary patterns that might be associated with high uric acid concentrations.ResultsA total of 1070 adolescents were recruited. Of these, 53.6% (n = 574) were females, and 58.5% (n = 625) were within the normal body mass index (BMI) range. The males had a significantly higher serving size and frequency in their weekly food consumption, including meat, poultry, Chinese cereal staple foods and Western-style fast foods, than the females (all p ConclusionsThe prevalence of hyperuricaemia was relatively high in Chinese adolescents. The prevention of hyperuricaemia measures should be strengthened in adolescents to effectively control for obesity and gout, which tend to persist into adulthood.