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Gout

How common is gout?

Gout is quite common, especially in older people.

About 1 in 100 people get it at some point. Gout is far more common in men than women.

Source:
Kim KY, Schumacher HR, Hunsche E, et al.
A literature review of the epidemiology and treatment of acute gout.
Clinical Therapeutics. 2003; 25: 1593-1616.

Five in 100 men over age 65 have gout. But less than 1 in 100 women over 65 get it.

Source:
Harris CM, Lloyd DC, Lewis J.
The prevalence and prophylaxis of gout in England.
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 1995; 48: 1153-1158.

² Only about 1 to 2 in 1,000 men age 50 to 65 have gout.

Source:
Abbott RD, Brand FN, Kannel WB, et al.
Gout and coronary heart disease: the Framingham study.
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 1988; 41: 237-242.

³ It's even less common in younger people.

Source:
Choi HK, Atkinson K, Karlson EW, et al.
Purine-rich foods, dairy and protein intake, and the risk of gout in men.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 350: 1093-1103.

⁴

Gout seems to be getting more common. This might be because people live longer, so they're more likely to reach an age when gout is more likely.

Also, people are more likely to do things that increase the risk of gout. This includes:

Source:
Bieber JD, Terkeltaub RA.
Gout: on the brink of novel therapeutic options for an ancient disease.
Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2004; 50: 2400-2414.

⁵

Being obese
Eating more meat and seafood
Taking

diuretics
Diuretics are a type of medicine that reduce the amount of fluid in your body. The extra fluid is removed in your urine.

diuretic (water) pills for medical conditions like

heart failure
When the heart loses its ability to push enough blood through the circulation, it is called heart failure.

heart failure and

high blood pressure
Your blood pressure is considered to be high when it is above the accepted normal range. The usual limit for normal blood pressure is 140/90. If either the first (systolic) number is above 140 or the lower (diastolic) number is above 90, a person is considered to have high blood pressure. Doctors sometimes call high blood pressure "hypertension."

high blood pressure.

Gout may also be more common in some non-white ethnic groups.

Source:
Kim KY, Schumacher HR, Hunsche E, et al.
A literature review of the epidemiology and treatment of acute gout.
Clinical Therapeutics. 2003; 25: 1593-1616.

¹ One study showed that:

Source:
Hochberg MC, Thomas J, Thomas DJ, et al.
Racial differences in the incidence of gout: the role of hypertension.
Arthritis and Rheumatism. 1995; 38: 628-632.

⁶

More than 3 in 1,000 black men have gout
Less than 2 in 1,000 white men have gout.

This may partly be because black men are at greater risk of getting high blood pressure. High blood pressure and medication used to treat this condition make gout more likely.

Sources for the information on this page:

Kim KY, Schumacher HR, Hunsche E, et al.A literature review of the epidemiology and treatment of acute gout.Clinical Therapeutics. 2003; 25: 1593-1616.

Harris CM, Lloyd DC, Lewis J.The prevalence and prophylaxis of gout in England.Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 1995; 48: 1153-1158.

Abbott RD, Brand FN, Kannel WB, et al.Gout and coronary heart disease: the Framingham study.Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 1988; 41: 237-242.

Choi HK, Atkinson K, Karlson EW, et al.Purine-rich foods, dairy and protein intake, and the risk of gout in men.New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 350: 1093-1103.

Bieber JD, Terkeltaub RA.Gout: on the brink of novel therapeutic options for an ancient disease.Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2004; 50: 2400-2414.

Hochberg MC, Thomas J, Thomas DJ, et al.Racial differences in the incidence of gout: the role of hypertension.Arthritis and Rheumatism. 1995; 38: 628-632.

This information was last updated on Jan 09, 2009

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