Professor Tu Xiaowen, Director and Head of Nephrology Department at the Missile Forces Special Medical Center (China), said that hyperuricemia is increasingly common, with the incidence tending to increase along with socio-economic development and improved living standards.
Hyperuricemia is determined when the uric acid level in the plasma on an empty stomach exceeds 420 μmol/L in two separate tests. This condition has a two-way causal relationship with chronic kidney disease.
If people with hyperuricemia do not control their diet and exercise well, when the uric acid concentration exceeds the threshold of 420 μmol/L, uric acid crystals will crystallize and deposit in the kidneys, increasing the risk of chronic kidney disease, causing hematuria, proteinuria and ultimately can lead to kidney failure due to reduced glomerular filtration rate.
In the opposite direction, for people who have had kidney disease before, when kidney function declines and glomerular filtration rate decreases, uric acid will be more difficult to excrete, causing uric acid levels in the blood to continue to rise and make kidney disease worse. Therefore, hyperuricemia and kidney disease have a reciprocal relationship, exacerbating each other's condition.
Regarding high-risk groups, people with "three high diseases" including hypertension, hyperlipidemia and obesity, as well as people who abuse alcohol and tobacco, are susceptible to hyperuricemia.
It is noteworthy that in the early stages, increased uric acid usually has no or very few symptoms, so close monitoring is needed. If the patient has clinical manifestations, and also has obesity, high blood pressure or dyslipidemia, they need to go to a medical facility to perform necessary tests.
Professor Tu Xiaowen also noted that if uric acid is deposited in the joints, patients may have gout arthritis. Meanwhile, if uric acid crystals accumulate in the kidneys, the disease usually does not have obvious manifestations in the early stages, so it can only be detected through regular examinations and medical check-ups.
