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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffA high uric acid level can be caused when your body either produces too much uric acid or your kidneys don't eliminate uric acid rapidly enough.
A high uric acid level may cause increasingly frequent attacks of gout, or it may never cause problems. A high uric acid level may also cause some people to develop kidney stones or kidney failure. And some people with a high uric acid level also develop high blood pressure, heart disease or chronic kidney disease, but it's often unclear whether this is a direct cause or merely an early warning sign of these conditions.
Factors that may cause a high uric acid level in your blood include:
- Diuretic medications (water pills)
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Genetics (inherited tendencies)
- Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
- Immune-suppressing drugs
- Niacin, or vitamin B-3
- Obesity
- Psoriasis
- Purine-rich diet — organ meat, game meat, anchovies, herring, gravy, dried beans, dried peas, mushrooms and other foods
- Renal insufficiency — inability of the kidneys to filter waste
- Tumor lysis syndrome — a rapid release of cells into the blood caused by certain cancers or by chemotherapy for those cancers
Also, you may be monitored for high uric acid levels when undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer.
Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom. Work with your doctor or other health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.
- Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed Sept. 3, 2012.
- Kim SY, et al. Hyperuricemia and coronary heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arthritis Care & Research. 2010;62:170.
- Ohno, I. Relationship between hyperuricemia and chronic kidney disease. Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids. 2011;30:1039.
- Jin M, et al. Uric acid, hyperuricemia and vascular diseases. Frontiers in Bioscience. 2012;17:656.
- Kanbay M, et al. Uric acid in hypertension and renal disease: The chicken or the egg? Blood Purification. 2010;30:288.
- So A, et al. Uric acid transport and disease. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2010;120:1791.
- Questions and answers about gout. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Gout/default.asp. Accessed Sept. 3, 2012.
- Uric acid. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/uric-acid/tab/glance. Accessed Sept. 6, 2012.
- Hochberg J, et al. Tumor lysis syndrome: Current perspective. Haematologica. 2008;93:9.
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