title: Serum uric acid in U.S. adolescents: distribution and relationship to demographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  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 among U.S. adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nationally representative subsample of 1,912 adolescents aged 13-18 years in NHANES 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 and demographic, socioeconomic, and dietary factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean UA level was 5.14 ± 1.45 mg/dl. Mean UA increased with increasing age and was higher in non-Hispanic white race, male sex, higher body mass index (BMI) Z-score, and with higher systolic blood pressure. In fully adjusted linear regression models, sex, age, race, and BMI were independent determinants of higher UA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study defines serum UA reference ranges for adolescents. Also, it reveals some intriguing relationships between UA and demographic and clinical characteristics that warrant further studies to examine the pathophysiological role of UA in different disease processes.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension, Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Ibrahim F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Shatat
authors.forename: Rany T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Abdallah
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sas
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hailpern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D044469:Racial Groups; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014527:Uric Acid