Causes

Most of the time, a high uric acid level occurs when your kidneys don't eliminate uric acid efficiently. Things that may cause this slow-down in the removal of uric acid include rich foods, being overweight, having diabetes, taking certain diuretics (sometimes called water pills) and drinking too much alcohol. Other less common causes are a diet high in purine-containing items or your body producing too much uric acid.

Factors that may cause a high uric acid level in your blood include:

• Diuretics (water retention relievers)
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Genetics (inherited tendencies)
• Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
• Immune-suppressing drugs
• Niacin, or vitamin B-3
• Obesity
• Psoriasis
• Purine-rich diet � liver, game meat, anchovies, sardines, gravy, dried beans and 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.