Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022 Nov 22. doi: 10.1002/art.42381. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Few data are available on whether changes in metabolic syndrome (MetS) affect incident gout. We investigated associations among MetS changes and incident gout in a young male cohort.
METHODS: This nationwide population-based cohort study included 20-39-year-old men who participated in serial health check-ups. The outcome, incident gout, was defined by the claims database diagnostic code for gout. Associations among MetS changes and incident gout were analyzed with Cox proportional hazard models.
RESULTS: Among 1,293,166 subjects, 18,473 were diagnosed with gout (incidence rate 3.36/1,000 person-years). Subjects who were MetS-chronic (MetS at all three health check-ups) had nearly four-fold higher risk of incident gout than subjects who were MetS-free (no MetS at all three health check-ups; aHR [95% CI] 3.82 [3.67-3.98]). Development of MetS more than doubled the risk of incident gout (aHR 2.31 [2.20-2.43]). Conversely, recovery from MetS reduced incident gout risk by nearly half (aHR 0.52 [0.49-0.56]). Among MetS components, changes in elevated triglycerides (development, aHR 1.74 [1.66-1.81]; recovery, aHR 0.56 [0.54-0.59]) and abdominal obesity (development, aHR 1.94 [1.85-2.03]; recovery, aHR 0.69 [0.64-0.74]) showed the greatest association with altered risk of incident gout. Associations among MetS changes and incident gout were more pronounced in subjects in their 20s than subjects in their 30s and in subjects who were under- or normal weight.
CONCLUSIONS: Changes in MetS status were associated with altered risk of incident gout. These results suggest that MetS is a modifiable risk factor for gout.
PMID:36415898 | DOI:10.1002/art.42381
