Alcohol Ups Gout Risk in Both Sexes, More Strongly for Men

TOPLINE:

A higher alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk for gout, more strongly in men than in women. This sex-specific difference may be attributed to the different types of alcohol consumed by men and women, rather than biologic variations.

METHODOLOGY:

• This prospective cohort study investigated the association between total and specific alcohol consumption and the long-term risk for incident gout in 179,828 men (mean age, 56.0 years) and 221,300 women (mean age, 56.0 years) from the UK Biobank who did not have gout at baseline.
• Alcohol consumption was assessed using a computer-assisted touch screen system. Among men, 2.9%, 3.6%, and 93.6% were identified as never, former, and current drinkers, respectively. Among women, 5.9%, 3.6%, and 90.5% were identified as never, former, and current drinkers, respectively.
• Participants were also required to share details about their weekly alcohol intake and the types of alcoholic beverages they consumed (red wine, champagne or white wine, beer or cider, spirits, or fortified wine).
• The median follow-up duration of this study was 12.7 years.
• Cases of incident gout during the follow-up period were identified using hospital records and the International Classification of Diseases codes.

TAKEAWAY:

• The risk for gout was 69% higher in men who were current drinkers than in those who were never drinkers (hazard ratio [HR], 1.69; 95% CI, 1.30-2.18), while an inverse association was observed in women who were current drinkers, although it was not statistically significant. A significant interaction was observed between drinking status and sex (P < .001 for interaction).
• Among current drinkers, more frequent alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk for gout among both sexes, with the association being stronger in men (HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.84-2.30) than in women (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.12-1.61).
• The consumption of beer or cider was higher in men than in women (4.2 vs 0.4 pints/wk).
• Among all alcoholic beverages, the consumption of beer or cider (per 1 pint/d) showed the strongest association with the risk for gout in both men (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.53-1.67) and women (HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.02-2.57).

IN PRACTICE:

“The observed sex-specific difference in the association of total alcohol consumption with incident gout may be owing to differences between men and women in the types of alcohol consumed rather than biological differences,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Jie-Qiong Lyu, MPH, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China. It was published online on August 28, 2024, in JAMA Network Open.

LIMITATIONS:

The frequency of alcohol consumption was self-reported, leading to potential misclassification. Incident cases of gout were identified from hospital records, which may have caused some undiagnosed cases or those diagnosed only in primary care settings to be missed. Most participants were of European descent and relatively healthier than the general population, limiting generalizability.

DISCLOSURES:

This work was supported by the Gusu Leading Talent Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.