7190 Serum uric acid and serum uric acid-to-creatinine ratio and its association with metabolic syndrome in Korean adolescents: the nation-wide population-based study
Authors: Jung S , Kim J , Kim S 
Published: October 2024

Disclosure: S. Jung: None. J. Kim: None. S. Kim: None.

Backgrounds: As the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among the pediatric population continues to rise, it is crucial to identify the factors associated with cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) to prevent the future development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) and SUA-to-creatine ratio (SUA/Cr) levels are associated with MetS, CMRFs, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults. However, studies on the usefulness of SUA or SUA/Cr to predict MetS in adolescents were sparse. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between SUA or SUA/Cr level and MetS and CMRFs among Korean adolescents. Material/Methods: Data collected from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2016 and 2021, which was nationally representative cross-sectional data, were used. A total of 2,218 subjects (1,185 males, 54.0%) aged 13-18 years were included in this study. They were classified into tertiles of SUA or SUA/Cr levels (T1, lower tertile; T2, mid-tertile; and T3, upper tertile) according to sex. The prevalence of MetS and CMRFs, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), was compared by tertiles of SUA. Results: The mean SUA and SUA/Cr was higher in males than females (6.37 ± 0.04 mg/dL and 4.66 ± 0.06 mg/dL, P &lt; 0.001 for SUA; 7.90 ± 0.07 mg/dL and 7.30 ± 0.06 mg/dL, P &lt; 0.001 for SUA/Cr). Z-scores of body mass index, waist circumference, waist-height ratio, levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, and ALT were significantly higher in T3 of SUA and SUA/Cr in both sexes, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was lower. In T3 of SUA and SUA/Cr, the prevalence and odds ratio (95% confidence interval) increased significantly in abdominal obesity [34.5%, 5.5 (4.0, 7.7) vs. 31.3%, 5.3 (3.7, 7.6)], elevated blood pressure [19.5%, 2.1 (1.5, 2.9) vs. 16.3% 1.6 (1.1, 2.2)], elevated triglyceride [29.5%, 2.1 (1.5, 2.8) vs. 27.9%, 2.1 (1.6, 2.8)], low HDL-C [22.5%, 3.4 (2.4, 5.0) vs. 20.2%, 2.6 (1.8, 3.9)], elevated ALT [31.5%, 5.7 (3.8, 8.6) vs. 19.1% 4.9 (3.2, 7.6)], obesity [33.6%, 7.6 (5.2, 11.2) vs. 25.9%, 6.0 (3.9, 9.1)] and MetS [13.7%, 7.4 (4.3, 13.0) vs. 10.8%, 6.8 (3.9, 9.1)], compared with T1 of SUA and SUA/Cr, respectively. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve of predicting MetS was 0.681 for males and 0.823 for females using SUA and 0.653 for males and 0.840 for females using SUA/Cr. The proportion of participants with ≥ 3 CMRFs was 2.1% in T1, 3.5% in T2, and 13.7% in T3 in SUA (P &lt; 0.001) and 2.1% in T1, 5.8% in T2, and 10.8% in T3 in SUA/Cr (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: In this nationwide cross-sectional study, SUA and SUA/Cr levels are associated with MetS, its components, and the marker of NAFLD in Korean adolescents. SUA and SUA/Cr seem to be more specific in diagnosing MetS in female adolescents. Both SUA and SUA/Cr could be used as important markers to predict MetS in adolescents.

Presentation: 6/1/2024