Hyperuricaemia refers to an abnormally high concentration of uric acid in serum [1], typically defined as >7 mg/dL (416 μmol/L) in men and >6 mg/dL in women [2]. Mean serum uric acid has increased progressively over the last century in many populations [3]. In recent years, the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has been the main source of epidemiological data on hyperuricaemia in Western countries (Table 1).1 In the 2009–2010 analysis, the US adult population age-adjusted prevalence of hyperuricaemia was 19.3% [4].
