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Elevated serum uric acid in eating disorders: A possible index of strenuous physical activity and starvation
Author(s) -
Gupta Madhulika A.,
KavanaughDanelon Donna
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/1098-108x(198907)8:4<463::aid-eat2260080410>3.0.co;2-#
Subject(s) - starvation , uric acid , eating disorders , psychology , physical activity , medicine , endocrinology , psychiatry , physical therapy
Abstract In a survey of 32 consecutive outpatients with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia nervosa, about 9% of patients had elevated serum uric acid levels at the time of their initial assessment. These patients had a history of regular strenuous exercising and prolonged or periodic starvation, in the absence of other potential causes for the hyperuricemia, i.e., dehydration, a purine‐rich diet, recent alcohol use or use of thiazide diuretics. One patient had a history of gout and experienced a relapse of her gouty symptoms in association with resumption of a restrictive dietary pattern and compulsive exercising. Increased net degradation of cellular adenosine triphosphate during strenuous exercising and decreased renal clearance of uric acid during starvation were the most likely causes for the hyperuricemia. The overall significance of this previously unreported finding among eating‐disordered patients is discussed. Monitoring of serum uric acid levels, a relatively inexpensive and easily available test, may prove to be a useful adjunct in the assessment of certain indices of illness severity in eating disorders.