Hyperuricemia in American Samoans

Abstract

The mean serum uric acid of 71 normal adult American Samoan men was 6.8 mg%. Serum cholesterol, electrolytes, creatinine and total protein measurements were in the usual normal range and none correlated well with the serum urate. Like other Polynesian people, gout, obesity, diabetes and ischemic heart disease seem to be common among Samoans. Hyperuricemia has been described in MATERIALS AND METHODSA mass treatment program of filariasis had been carried out in the early 1960's. From 1966 to 1968, a follow-up survey was performed in the villages of American Samoa. Additional ,blood samples for the present study were obtained from men who met the following criteria: a) in good health and taking no medication, b) no history of gout or arthritis, c) of Samoan ancestry-ie, both parents born in Samoa.Blood was drawn in the morning, usually before any occasion for feasting or drinking. The serum was separated by centrifugation, frozen, packed in dry ice and shipped by air from American Samoa to the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Sufficient serum was obtained from 71 men to permit determinations and these comprise the study group. Uric acid was measured by the enzymatic spectrophotometric method. Other determinations were run by the standard automated laboratory system. RESULTSThe mean values for serum uric acid, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, calcium, total protein, and creatinine are shown in Table 1. The uric acid level of 6.8 mg% is significantly higher than the mean for Caucasians in the United States (5.2 mg%) (1,5). The other values are within the normal range. Correlations coefficients with the uric acid were computed for all variables both singly and in combination. None correlated strongly. No variable or group of variables was a strong predictor of the uric acid and the correlations were little better than would occur with chance alone.' DISCUSSIONThe mean urate of this sample of Samoan males (6.8 mg%) is higher than that of normal Caucasian men. It is also higher +These analyses were kindly performed by Dr.

Building capacity to conduct genetic epidemiology research on hyperuricaemia and gout in an Indigenous community in Guam

“…Similarly, our ethnic-speci c serum urate levels were slightly above those reported among ethnic groups in the NHANES such as Non-Hispanic Whites (5.43 mg/dL) and Non-Hispanic African Americans (5.42 mg/dL) (40). Our study's overall serum urate level is closer to other Paci c Island populations like the Māori from Aotearoa New Zealand (7.1 mg/dL) (41,42) and American Samoans (6.8 mg/dL) (43). Our reported overall gout prevalence (23.0%) is relatively high within Paci c Island populations such as the New Zealand Māori at 18.4% (42), other Paci c Islanders in New Zealand at 7.6% (44), and Samoans at 7.2% (45).…”

The Role of Uric Acid in Human Health: Insights from the Uricase Gene

“…With infectious diseases being one of the strongest drivers of natural selection, it is presumed that genes associated with raising urate may have been selected during major depopulation events. This theory may partly explain the genetic predisposition for hyperuricemia/gout and the higher mean uric acid levels in the Pacific and Oceania regions compared with whites and the Western world [ 25 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 ].…”