Hyperuricemia in Down syndrome children and adolescents

Renato Nisihara,Pietro Massuda,Isabela Moreno,Hatsuo Miyatake,Nanci Oliveira,Thelma Skare

doi:10.5935/1676-2444.20190014

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: Patients with Down syndrome (DS) seem to have higher rates of hyperuricemia, although there are very few studies that address this issue. High levels of uric acid (UA) are an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic heart disease. Objective: To study the prevalence of hyperuricemia in DS children and its distribution according to age. Methods: Retrospective study of 139 DS patients aged 1-14 years for serum UA values considering the normal cut-off values for age. Results: Among the 139 included patients, 70 (50.4%) were males, 69 (49.6%) were females, and the mean age was 5.31 ± 3.49 years (range 1-14 years). In this sample, 39 (28.1%) had serum UA levels above the normal value. We did not find differences in the serum UA according to gender, except in patients in the range of 13-15 years, where males had mean UA levels of 5.75 ± 1.37 mg/dl; and females, of 8.02 ± 0.77 mg/dl (p = 0.02). Conclusion: We found a high rate of hyperuricemia in children with DS that equally affects both genders, except in the age range of 13-15 years, in which it was more common among females.

Highlights

Patients with Down syndrome (DS) seem to have higher rates of hyperuricemia, there are very few studies that address this issue
We found a high rate of hyperuricemia in children with DS that affects both genders, except in the age range of 13-15 years, in which it was more common among females
The results of the present study showed high prevalence of hyperuricemia in DS patients, encompassing almost one third of the whole sample

Summary

Introduction

Results: Among the 139 included patients, 70 (50.4%) were males, 69 (49.6%) were females, and the mean age was 5.31 ± 3.49 years (range 1-14 years). In this sample, 39 (28.1%) had serum UA levels above the normal value. We did not find differences in the serum UA according to gender, except in patients in the range of 13-15 years, where males had mean UA levels of 5.75 ± 1.37 mg/dl; and females, of 8.02 ± 0.77 mg/dl (p = 0.02). Conclusion: We found a high rate of hyperuricemia in children with DS that affects both genders, except in the age range of 13-15 years, in which it was more common among females. With the eating habits of the modern diet, rich in salt and UA precursors such as fructose, it has been observed that high levels of UA are associated with hypertension, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, renal failure and strokes[8, 9]

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Conclusion