The Study
The Relationship of Protein Diet with Uric Acid Levels in the Elderly in Outpatient Polyclinics : A Cross-sectional Study
This study looked at a group of older people and saw that those who ate more meat and junk food tended to have higher uric acid levels. But it didn't watch them over time, so we don't know if the food made the uric acid go up—or if people with high uric acid just started eating worse because they felt sick.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at older people with high uric acid and saw if what they ate made it worse.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 536 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you're elderly and eat a lot of meat or organ meats, you're much more likely to have high uric acid, which can cause painful gout.
- 2Of 54 elderly patients, 29 had high uric acid.
- 3Of those, 22 out of 23 (95.7%) had a poor protein diet.
- 4Only 1 out of 16 with a good protein diet had high uric acid.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Lentera Perawat
Year
2025
Authors
Meydiana Putri Pratiwi, Andre Utama Saputra, Serli Wulan Safitri, S. Parmin
Related Content
Claims (6)
When the body breaks down purines from food, it produces more uric acid in the blood.
In older adults with high uric acid levels, those who eat a poor-quality protein diet have 22 times higher rates of elevated uric acid in their blood than those who eat a high-quality protein diet.
In older adults with high uric acid levels, the type of protein consumed in the diet is linked to the amount of uric acid in the blood.
Among elderly people with high uric acid levels, more than 95% consume a diet with poor-quality protein.
In older adults with high uric acid levels, those who eat a diet high in protein are nearly twice as likely to have normal uric acid levels in their blood than those who eat a diet low in protein.
In older adults with high uric acid levels, 54% continue to have elevated levels and 43% consume a diet low in protein quality.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.