Association between the uric acid to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and alanine transaminase in Chinese short stature children and adolescents: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: Uric acid to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (UHR), the ratio of uric acid to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is a newly proposed marker of metabolic abnormalities. There are few previous studies directly investigating the relationship between UHR and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), especially in short stature populations, however, short stature children and adolescents are more likely to have metabolic disorders. This research aimed to investigate the relationship between the UHR and ALT in children and adolescents with short stature. METHODS: In this cross-sectional analysis, the clinical data of 1,510 children with height below −2 SD who were evaluated at the Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from 1 March 2013 to 31 December 2021, were selected. Anthropometric and biochemical indicators were measured. The relationship between UHR and ALT was analysed. RESULTS: The univariate analysis results showed that UHR was positively associated with ALT (β = 0.43, P < 0.0001). Furthermore, after adjusting for possible confounding factors, a non-linear relationship was detected between UHR and ALT through smooth curve fitting, and the inflection point of UHR was 10.93% after multivariate piecewise linear regression analysis. ALT increased with UHR elevation when the UHR was greater than 10.93% (β = 0.69, 95% CI 0.39, 0.98; P < 0.0001). However, we did not observe a significant relationship when the UHR was less than 10.93% (P = 0.9229). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that in Chinese children and adolescents with short stature, UHR may be associated with the regulation of ALT levels, and this relationship merits further investigation.