Gout Means Increased Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

Gout has long been associated with cardiovascular conditions such as heart dysfunction, however, the pathology between the two have remained unclear. A large study analyzed this type of arthritis in connection with atrial fibrillation.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham and Keele University, both in England, aimed to find the risk of atrial fibrillation at the time of diagnosis. They also measured the risk in time following the gout diagnosis. Published in the journal Rheumatology, the study compared 45,378 patients with gout with 45,378 healthy controls matched for age, sex, practice, registration year, and index year.

The population was nearly three-quarters male with an average age of 62. The risks were adjusted for smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), ischemic heart disease, heart failure, heart valve disease, hyperthyroidism, medications, and other comorbidities. At the index date, 7.42% of patients with gout and 2.83% of healthy controls had atrial fibrillation.

• The MD Magazine Gout condition center

Furthermore, at years one, two, five, and 10, atrial fibrillation was apparent in 1.08%, 2.03%, 4.77%, and 9.68% of patients with gout, respectively. The same was observed in 0.43%, 1.08%, 2.95%, and 6.33% of healthy controls at those time periods.

The findings indicate that no matter if atrial fibrillation is studied in patients at the time of diagnosis or 10 years later, it is more prevalent in patients with gout when compared to healthy controls.

“This population-based study indicates that gout is independently associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation at diagnosis and the risk is also higher after the diagnosis,” the authors concluded.

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