An Epidemiological Survey of Hyperuricemia among the Atayals of Nanau Township, Ilan County

C. L.Huang

1996 Vol.12 NO.5

Correspondence Author：

Abstract：

The serum uric acid levels of elderly people are highly related to many chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease. Gout is a kind of hyperuricemia originating in disorders of either purine metabolism or purine excretion. Lai et al., in their 1991 survey, found that the aborigines of Tungyueh village, Ilan County, seemed to have a high serum uric acid level. The present survey studied the Atayals, aged 20 years and above, of Nanau Township in flan County, for likely risk factors possibly concerned with their high serum uric acid levels. The average uric acid value for the male Atayals was found to be 8.31±1.90; that for the female, 6.58 ± 1.75. Using as a definition of hyperuricemia a uric acid level for males of > 7.7mg% and for females of > 6.6mg%, the prevalence rate of hyperuricemia was up to 49.4%, and the rate of gout, 14.9%. The prevalence rate of gout was 30.1% of all hyperuricemic cases. Hyperuricemia is considered to be associated with both ethnicity and dietary habits. To prevent hyperuricemia, one should be particularly concerned with good dietary habits. Further studies, using molecular biology, are needed thorough investigation of hyperuricemia in different ethnic groups.