Prevalence and related factors of hyperuricaemia in Chinese children and adolescents: a pooled analysis of 11 population-based studies

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hyperuricaemia can lead to gout and is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of hyperuricaemia and its related factors in Chinese children and adolescents. METHODS: We pooled data from 11 population-based studies comprising 54,580 participants aged 3–19 years. The sex- and age-standardized prevalence of hyperuricaemia was estimated overall and by sex, age, weight status, geographic region and survey year. RESULTS: Serum uric acid (SUA) increased gradually from 3 to 11 years with no significant sex difference, and then increased dramatically during 11–15 years. The estimated overall prevalence of hyperuricaemia was 23.3% (26.6% in boys and 19.8% in girls, p < .001). The prevalence increased with growing age (3.7, 9.8, 15.8, 35.5 and 31.7% among children aged 3–5, 6–8, 9–11, 12–15 and 16–19 years, respectively, p for trend < .001) and with increasing weight status (18.2, 37.6, 50.6 and 64.5% among children with non-overweight, overweight, obesity and extreme obesity, respectively, p for trend < .001). The prevalence was higher in North than in South (24.2 vs. 19.7%, p < .001), and increased markedly from 16.7% during 2009–2015 to 24.8% during 2016–2019. In multivariable regression analyses, sex, age, obesity, region and survey year were independently associated with odds of hyperuricaemia. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hyperuricaemia in Chinese children and adolescents is unexpectedly high. The findings suggest an urgent need to implement effective interventions to reduce risk of hyperuricaemia in Chinese youths. KEY MESSAGES: Question: What is the prevalence of hyperuricaemia in Chinese children and adolescents? Findings: In this large pooled cross-sectional study comprising >50,000 children and adolescents aged 3–19 years, we found that the prevalence of hyperuricaemia was high in overall population and subgroups of sex, age, obesity, region and survey year. Meaning: Our findings indicate that hyperuricaemia is an important health problem in Chinese children and adolescents, and effective intervention strategies are needed to reduce its burden.