Increased catabolism of nucleic acid in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients of different ages

Uric acid is the end product of nucleic acid catabolism for humanity. Serum uric acid level has been suggested to be associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aims to examine the association between serum uric acid levels and NAFLD in subjects of different ages. A cross-sectional study was performed among the patients of different ages with NAFLD (abnormal group) or without NAFLD (normal group) in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China. The levels of serum uric acid, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low density lipoprotein in the abnormal group were significantly higher than those in the normal group, while the level of high density lipoprotein in the abnormal group was significantly lower than that in the normal group (p < 0.05). The serum uric acid prevalence, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, and low density lipoprotein in the abnormal group was significantly higher than those in the normal group (p < 0.05). The serum uric acid, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low density lipoprotein levels and prevalence rates in elderly patients were higher than younger and middle aged patients. Serum uric acid level is highly associated with NAFLD in patients of different ages. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.