Naijun Wan, Qian Zhang, Jin Zhang, Tian Zhang, Weijia Shi

Department of Pediatrics, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Naijun Wan, Department of Pediatrics, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, 68 huinanbei Road, Beijing, 100096, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-010-58398102, Email wann6971@163.com

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in children with obesity.
Methods: 229 children with obesity were included in the study, and their blood SUA, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and other indicators were measured. Distal forearm BMD was assessed at the radius and ulna. Differences in these indicators were compared across different genders and age groups.
Results: BMD showed significant differences between genders and age groups. The BMD Z-score in the 6– 9 years group was higher than that in the 10– 12 years group for both boys (− 0.13 ± 0.92 vs − 1.27 ± 0.62, p = 0.000) and girls (0.68 ± 0.96 vs − 0.03 ± 0.73, p = 0.001). Serum SUA levels in the 6– 9 years group were lower than those in the 10– 12 years group for both boys (345.9 ± 65.7 vs 415.39 ± 74.02, p = 0.000) and girls (338.33 ± 63.33 vs 368.61 ± 75.45, p = 0.047). SUA was negatively correlated with BMD in all age groups of boys and in the 6– 9 years group of girls (p< 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that after controlling for other factors affecting BMD, SUA remained significantly negatively correlated with BMD Z-scores (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: SUA is negatively correlated with BMD in children with obesity and is an independent factor affecting BMD. It may serve as a potential predictor of BMD in children with obesity.

Keywords: bone mineral density, child, obesity, serum uric acid