SERUM URIC ACID IS INCREASED IN NORMOTENSIVE OBESE CHILDREN WITH A PARENTAL HYSTORY OF HYPERTENSION

Introduction: Increased uric acid levels are associated with new-onset hypertension in children. Nevertheless, controversy remains concerning a direct causative role of serum uric acid (SUA) in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension (EH). Aim: To determine if normotensive obese children and adolescent offspring of adults with EH show SUA levels different than those of paediatric subjects in whom there is no family history of EH. Methods: Fifty-nine obese normotensive children and adolescents, aged between 8 and 17 years, attending for metabolic assessment the Paediatric Diabetes Unit, Children’s Hospital ‘‘G. Di Cristina’’, and for cardiovascular evaluation the ESH Hypertension excellen…