Changes in Metabolic Syndrome Linked to Alteration in Risk for Gout

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- For young men, changes in metabolic syndrome (MetS) are associated with an altered risk for incident gout, according to a study published online Nov. 23 in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Yeonghee Eun, M.D., Ph.D., from the Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, and colleagues examined the associations between MetS changes and incident gout in a cohort of men aged 20 to 39 years who participated in serial health checkups.

The researchers found that 18,473 of the 1,293,166 individuals were diagnosed with gout (incidence rate, 3.36/1,000 person-years). Compared with individuals who were MetS-free (no MetS at three health checkups), those with chronic MetS (MetS at all three health checkups) had almost a fourfold higher risk for incident gout (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 3.82). MetS development was associated with a more than twofold increased risk for incident gout (aHR, 2.31). In contrast, the risk for incident gout was almost halved with recovery from MetS (aHR, 0.52). The greatest association with altered risk for gout was seen for the MetS components of changes in elevated triglycerides (development: aHR, 1.74; recovery: aHR, 0.56) and abdominal obesity (development: aHR, 1.94; recovery: aHR, 0.69). Individuals in their 20s versus their 30s and those who were underweight or normal weight had more pronounced associations.

"This is the first large-scale study to explore the association between dynamic changes in MetS and risk of gout," a coauthor said in a statement. "Prevention and recovery from MetS can significantly lower the risk of gout in young adults."

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