Assessment of nutrition of adults with hyperuricemia

Introduction. Hyperuricemia is a common problem in clinical practice. According to estimations, it may affect approximately 8.9% to 24.4% of the general population. The results of studies analyzing the effect of the intake of purine compounds from different products on the risk of hyperuricemia are inconsistent.

Objective. The assessment of nutrition of adults with hyperuricemia.

Material and methods. The study comprised 58 adults, including 43 women and 15 men. The mean age was 54 ± 10.6 years. The study was conducted using a questionnaire method. Dietary intake was assessed through the analysis of the frequency of consumption of 50 food products which are sources of purines. Statistical analysis of the data obtained was performed using Statistica 13.3 software via Pearson’s chi-square test. The level of statistical significance was adopted at p < 0.05.

Results. The mean uric acid concentration among the respondents was 7.14 ± 1.5 mg/dl; however, almost 30% of the them were taking uric acid-lowering drugs. The use of a special diet (vegetarian, low-purine, low-glycemic-index) was declared only by one-fifth of the respondents. More than 1/3 declared limiting the consumption of meat which contains high amounts of purine compounds. The average daily intake of purine compounds was 238 ± 276 mg/day. Less than 80% of women and 60% of men declared the intake of purines in the range of 0 to 299 mg/day. The main sources of these compounds in the respondents’ diets were plant products (34%), meat (27%), fish and seafood (27%), and cereals(7%).

Conclusion. These studies indicate the need for further, more in-depth population-based research on the composition of diets followed by people with elevated uric acid concentrations.