Association of serum uric acid concentration with components of pediatric metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Hyperuricemia is implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases and metabolic disorders. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) in childhood is one of the most important causes of different noncommunicable diseases in adulthood. This study aimed to systematically review the association between serum uric acid (UA) concentration and components of pediatric MetS. In this meta-analysis and systematic review, related articles were gathered by searching English databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. We used the following keywords: uric acid, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, fasting blood sugar (FBS), hyperglycemia; the search was limited to English language and included observational and cohort studies performed among children or adolescents. Pooled relative risks (odds ratio [OR]) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were extracted. A random-effect model was used. On the basis of 34 eligible studies, the pooled correlation between UA with metabolic components including FBS (r = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.09-0.40), fasting insulin (r = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.15-0.37), and hyperglycemia (r for triglyceride and UA = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.19-0.38) (r for high-density lipoprotein and UA = -0.28, 95% CI = -0.37 to -0.20) was statistically significant. The association of both diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) was statistically significant with UA (r for SBP and UA = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.24-0.43; r for DBP and UA = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.11-0.25). The OR between risk of abdominal obesity with UA was statistically significant (OR = 2.62, 95% CI = 1.41-3.84). Serum UA concentration is associated with major components of the pediatric MetS. Its measurement and control should be underscored in at-risk children and adolescents.