Alterations in Serum Levels of Uric Acid, Urea, Creatine, Potassium and Sodium in Young Adult Females with Striae Distensae in South Eastern Nigeria

Background: Striae distensae (stretch mark) is a skin disorder with social and psychological impact on young adult females. Despite its high prevalence in Nigeria, there is scarcity of information on its association with some biochemical indices of kidney function.

Objective: The study was carried out to determine if there is any alteration in serum uric acid, urea, creatinine, sodium and potassium levels in young adult females with striae distensae.

Methods: A total of 80 young adult females were selected for the study. They were divided into two groups; 40 young adult females with striae distensae served as the study group while 40 young adult females without striae distensae served as the control group. Venous blood samples were collected from all participants in plain containers, allowed to clot and was centrifuged to obtain serum which was stored frozen and analyzed within 48hours. Serum uric acid, urea and creatinine levels were determined using spectrophotometric methods, while serum potassium and sodium levels were determined using the flame photometric method. The data generated were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS version 21.

Results: The young adult females with striae distensae had significantly higher levels of serum uric acid (4.98±1.11mg/dL) compared to the controls (3.76±0.69mg/dL) (p=0.000). There were significantly higher levels of serum urea (26.55±4.22mg/dL) in young adult females with striae distensae compared to the controls (22.90±2.61mg/dL) (p=0.000). There was no significant difference in the serum levels of creatinine in young adult females with striae distensae (0.72±0.10mg/dL) compared to the controls (0.78±0.11mg/dL) (p=0.186). Serum sodium (Na) was significantly lower while serum potassium (K) was significantly higher in young adult females with striae distensae (133.60±5.50mmol/L Na, Versus 138.40±3.87mmol/L Na, p=0.006) and (3.47±0.13mmol/L K Versus 3.29±0.16mmol/L K, p=0.003) respectively. There was a significant positive correlation of serum creatinine with sodium (r=0.490, p=0.028) while there was a significant negative correlation of serum creatinine with potassium (r=-0.595, p=0.006) in young adult females with striae distensae. There was also a positive correlation of serum urea with sodium (r=0.455, p=0.044), while there was non-significant correlation of Serum urea with creatinine (r=0.320, p=0.169) and potassium (r=0.099, p=0.0679) in young adult females with striae distensae.

Conclusion: Higher serum levels of uric acid, urea, and potassium parallels lower levels of serum sodium as observed in young adult females with striae distensae. This may in part contribute to the development of this skin disorder in this environment.