Credit: Original article published here.
A recent study conducted in Aotearoa, New Zealand, found that individuals with gout are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study was published in BMJ Medicine.
Using linked administrative health data from national registries of pharmaceutical dispensing, hospital admissions, and deaths, researchers examined the association between gout and cardiovascular outcomes.
The study included 942,416 residents of the Auckland/Northland region aged 20-79 years with no history of CVD. Of these, 31,907 (3.4%) had gout, with 6261 women and 25,646 men being affected. The researchers tracked the participants for 5 years, from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2016, to identify the time to first fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular event. CVD was broadly defined as comprising ischemic heart disease, ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, transient ischemic attack, peripheral vascular disease, and heart failure.
The study found that after adjusting for multiple risk factors for CVD, gout was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in both men and women. Specifically, gout was associated with a 34% increase in cardiovascular events in women and an 18% increase in men. For men with gout, the risk of CVD was lower in those who were regularly dispensed allopurinol and those with serum urate levels at the recommended treatment target. However, the risk of cardiovascular events was higher for men with gout who were dispensed colchicine.
The study’s findings highlight the importance of identifying gout as a potential risk factor for CVD. Gout is a common condition that affects approximately 3% of adults and is characterized by recurrent attacks of joint pain and inflammation caused by the deposition of uric acid crystals. Previous studies have shown that gout is associated with an increased risk of hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes, all of which are risk factors for CVD.
The study’s findings also suggest that treating gout with allopurinol, a medication that reduces serum urate levels, may reduce the risk of CVD in men with gout. However, the increased risk of cardiovascular events associated with colchicine dispensing in men with gout requires further investigation.
“These results indicate that gout is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. In men with gout without history of CVD, the cardiovascular risk was lower in those with regularly dispensed allopurinol and those with serum urate levels at the recommended treatment target,” the researchers concluded.
Source: BMJ Medicine
