Women are at risk for gout

Higher levels of serum uric acid increase the risk of gout in women. However, the rate of increase is lower than that in men.

Bhole and colleagues reviewed data from 52 years of the Framingham Heart Study (2476 women, 1951 men) to uncover any clear risk factors for gout in women. They evaluated serum uric acid levels and purported risk factors for gout that are closely consistent with those included in the Normative Aging Study of gout among men.

Of 304 patients with gout, 104 were women and 200 were men. The incidence increased with serum uric acid levels in women but more slowly than in men. Factors associated with the risk of incident gout in women included increasing age, obesity, hypertension, alcohol consumption, and diuretics use. The magnitudes of associations with these factors did not differ significantly from those in men, except for a stronger age effect among women. The type of alcohol consumed also influenced gout risk; it was markedly higher for spirits than for beer or wine.

The authors noted that their findings probably provide the first prospective, quantitative data on the relationship between serum uric acid levels and the risk of incident gout in women.