Gout is getting younger! Control uric acid levels to avoid recurrence

The gout problem among men is becoming more and more serious, and studies have confirmed that the gout population is tending to become younger. Doctors remind that the correct treatment concept for gout should not only be to treat joint swelling and pain, but more importantly, to control the uric acid level in the body within the normal range for a long time, so as to prevent excessive uric acid from crystallizing and precipitating in various parts of the body, causing irreversible damage.

Weight loss, moderate exercise and diet control are one of the successful factors in treating gout.

Director Yu Guanghui of the Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology Department of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said that before 1991, most gout patients were over 50 years old, but now more than half of male gout patients in Taiwan develop the disease before the age of 40. Ten years ago, this ratio was only about 30%, but abroad it is only less than 20%, which may be related to high-calorie diet, drinking, fructose intake, and low-level lead exposure in the environment.

Outpatient statistics show that about 1/4 of gout patients have a family history of gout, 10% to 20% of patients have urinary stones, and 30% of patients experience arthritis attacks more than once every two months on average. 10% of patients even experience attacks more than once a month and need outpatient care or anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.

The majority of gout patients are men, accounting for more than 90%. Female hormones can lower uric acid in the blood, so the prevalence of gout in women is lower than that in men. Women usually develop gout after the age of 50. The most common symptoms of gout attacks are redness, swelling, heat and pain in the big toe, ankle and knee joints. The triggers of gout attacks are mainly drinking beer, eating seafood, offal and other high-purine foods, but beans are less common. Vegetarians and monks who eat soy products generally do not often suffer from gout.

In addition to arthritis, a study recently published in the British Journal of Rheumatology by Dr. Kuo Chang-fu and Dr. Yu Guang-hui from the Rheumatology and Immunology Department of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital this month showed that gout patients are also at high risk of cardiovascular disease and death. An analysis of nearly 70,000 health checkup data at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital showed that 20% had hyperuricemia (, and about 2% of the health checkups were gout patients.

Further follow-up found that the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in gout patients is twice that of those with normal blood uric acid levels. Gout is a new risk factor independent of traditional risk factors. The overall risk of death in gout patients is also about 50% higher than that in those with normal blood uric acid levels.

Many people think that beans and mushrooms contain high levels of purine and are not suitable for gout patients. In fact, beans, mushrooms and their products contain medium to low amounts of purine, and their impact on gout patients is not that great. Weight loss, moderate exercise and diet control are one of the successful factors in treating gout, and are also important factors in controlling cardiovascular disease and maintaining health.