Association of Level of Uric Acid in Pregnancy and it’s Connection of Increase Gouty Arthritis in Women with Gestational Diabetes

Abstract

Uric acid is the principal end-product of purine metabolism in man and the primary biochemical requirement for the development of clinical gout is hyperuricemia. Prevalence of gout in women who are in their reproductive age is rare and only a few studies were carried out previously to investigate hyperuricemia in pregnancy. In this study, serum uric acid level was studied in 300 pregnant women attending Turai Yar’adua Women and Children Hospital Katsina. The blood glucose level of the women was also determined to check for gestational diabetes and whether there exist any correlation between blood glucose level and serum urate level. All the women recruited for this study were confirmed to be apparently healthy and were not previously diagnosed with diabetes or gouty arthritis. The results of the study obtained revealed that pregnancy is associated hyperuricemia.  An average of 344.23±27.24aµmol/L for 1st trimester, 394.22±12.14aµmol/L for 2nd trimester and 455.40±11.52b µmol/L for 3rd trimester serum uric acid level was observed in pregnant women compared to the standard reference range of 380µmol/L for women. Increased serum uric acid level was observed with increased age of pregnancy; thus highest serum urate levels was observed in the third trimester as compared to the first and second trimesters. No correlation was observed between age of pregnant women and serum urate level or blood glucose level. However, slight correlation was observed between blood glucose level and serum uric acid level in most pregnant women with high blood glucose level suggesting a link between hyperglycemia and hyperuricemia. Findings from this study indicate that women diagnosed with gouty arthritis may risk experiencing gout flares when they are pregnant, particularly in their third trimester.  Similarly, diabetic women may likely experience hyperuricemia and possibly gestational gouty arthritis during their pregnancy.