A new study that examined the health records of more than 860,000 people found that gout is associated with an increased risk of various cardiovascular diseases.

This research lancet rheumatology The study, co-led by researchers from the University of Glasgow, the University of Oxford and the University of Leuven, found that having gout was associated with a 58% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and that women with the disease and those under 45 The relative risk for humans was found to be even higher. .

Gout is an extremely painful condition that causes swelling and redness in the joints and is one of the most common types of inflammatory arthritis in the world. It is more common in men and the elderly, but can also affect women and young people, and is caused by a buildup of uric acid in the body, which causes small crystals to form around the joints.

Previous studies have linked gout to the risk of cardiovascular disease, but this is the first time researchers have looked at the wide range of diseases affected in such a large study. To carry out the study, a team of researchers from the UK and Europe analyzed data from more than 152,000 gout patients and a matched control population of more than 700,000 people using Clinical Practice Datalink electronic health records. .

The results showed that people with gout had an overall higher risk of cardiovascular disease than people without gout. Specifically, women with gout had an 88% higher relative risk of cardiovascular disease compared to women without gout. Men with gout had a 49% higher risk of cardiovascular disease than men without gout. Although the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease increases with age, this study shows that gout appears to amplify this risk to a greater extent in younger people (under 45 years) than in older people. They have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than people of the same age without gout.

This increased risk was seen in all 12 cardiovascular diseases examined in the study, including heart failure, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmia, valvular heart disease, and venous thromboembolism. Furthermore, in patients with gout, BMI They also had significantly higher prevalence of other health conditions such as chronic kidney disease and hypertension.

The researchers say these new findings suggest that identifying and implementing strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk in gout patients should be a future priority, both in future research and in clinical practice. It states that

First senior author of the paper Dr. Natalie Conrad, The professor, who is based at the University of Leuven in Belgium and is an honorary research fellow at the universities of Glasgow and Oxford, said: -Mediated inflammatory conditions. To date, these symptoms are poorly considered in cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines and risk scores, and there are no specific preventive measures for these patients. These data suggest that this may need to change, and the clinical community may need to consider cardiovascular disease screening and prevention as an integral part of gout management. ”

First author of the paper Dr. Lynn D. FergusonConsultant and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, based at the University of Glasgow, said: “This study highlights the importance of screening and management of a range of cardiovascular diseases in patients with gout. Gout can be considered a metabolic disease. , and management must address the heart and weight in addition to the joints.”

co-lead author Professor Naveed Sattar, University of Glasgow said: “Carefully used, high-quality data can help determine common risk factors for many conditions, such as obesity, and risk for future disease. Deliberate weight loss can help prevent or reverse gout. Future research is needed to determine whether this is helpful.”

paper, “Incidence of Gout and 12 Cardiovascular Diseases: A Case-Control Study Including 152,663 Gout Patients and 709,981 Matched Controls” Published in Lancet Rheumatology. This study was funded by the Flemish Research Foundation.

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