The Effect of Body Mass Index of Asia-Pacific Classification and Gender On Serum Uric Acid Level in A Selected Population from Sri Lanka

Abstract

Uric acid is the end product of purine nucleotide catabolism pathway. In humans, uric acid production and excretion proceed as a balanced process. Serum uric acid concentration is influenced by age, gender, body mass index (BMI), state of hydration and ethnicity. Increased concentration of serum uric acid indicates risks towards renal and cardiovascular diseases, gout, type 1 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The present study was aimed to investigate the correlation between serum uric acid level and BMI of Asia-Pacific categorization in healthy individuals. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted recruiting 120 Sinhala males and females within 20-25 years. BMI was calculated according to the standard protocols. The serum uric acid level was measured using the Uricase method.  Serum uric acid level was positively and moderately correlated with BMI (r=0.516, p<0.001). The mean serum uric acid level reported from the underweight group was 199.7μmol/L, whereas from the obese group, 319.5μmol/L. The normal and overweight groups had relatively similar serum uric acid levels; 275.4 and 256.6μmol/L, respectively. However, the mean serum uric acid concentration in males was significantly higher than in females in all four BMI categories. There was a significant positive moderate linear correlation between serum uric acid level and BMI in the study population.

KEYWORDS: Body mass index, Serum uric acid, Underweight, Obese, Overweight