Serum uric acid concentration and thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH): results of screening for hyperuricaemia in 2359 consecutive patients with various degrees of thyroid dysfunction.

Serum uric acid concentration (sUA) and hyperthyroidism have been reported to positively correlate with each other. Furthermore, epidemiological data indicate that uric acid may be an independent risk factor for hypertension-associated morbidity and mortality. To evaluate whether screening for hyperuricaemia might be worthwhile in patients with hyperthyroidism we determined serum concentrations of uric acid in 2359 consecutive patients (1939 female, 420 male; age: 48 +/- 17 years, mean +/- SD) with various degrees of thyroid dysfunction (hyperthyroidism: n = 242; subclinical hyperthyroidism: n = 143, hypothyroidism: n = 71, subclinical hypothyroidism: n = 212) and in 1688 euthyroid subjects. No association (r = 0.03) between sUA and total T4/TSH was detected. The significant difference (p < 0.05) in serum uric acid between hyperthyroid (4.8 +/- 1.32 mg/dl) and euthyroid (4.5 +/- 1.32 mg/dl) patients was of no clinical significance. We conclude that routine determination of sUA in hyperthyroid patients is not warranted.