Emerging Research on Gout

Study Looks at Genomic Data for Confirmation of Lifestyle Risk Factors in Gout

A recent study out of Korea presented novel single-nucleotide polymorphisms that linked gout with health-related lifestyle factors.¹ The researchers used genomic data of the Korean population to conduct their study of 18,927 samples (438 patients) and 18,489 controls in the first stage (discovery). They then analyzed an additional cohort of 326 patients and 2,737 controls.
 
Looking at the SNPs derived from the genome-wide association study, the authors found that 15 of them related to gout. One such SNP on chromosome 4 (rs1481012 of ABCG2) was previously undiscovered.¹ Out of these 15 SNPs, they did identify a correlation with health-related lifestyle factors. Specifically, duration of smoking and volume of alcohol consumption corresponded with increased gout risk. The authors contend that these findings suggest that management of gout should include addressing both the known genetic and recently confirmed related lifestyle factors.
 
Reference
 
1.    Jeon HK, Yoo HY. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms link gout with health-related lifestyle factors in Korean cohorts. PLoS One. 2023;18(12):e0295038. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295038.
 

Could an Anti-Inflammatory Diet Impact Gout Risk?

Researchers recently investigated the potential correlation of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) with gout risk in American adults. Looking at over 27,000 patients, the researchers used data from the 2007–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.¹ They then used multiple evaluation and statistical models to explore this possible relationship.
 
In a univariate regression model, individuals in the highest DII quartile are at higher risk for gout.¹ Researchers also found, after adjusting for alcohol consumption, tobacco use, gender, age, race, and body mass index (BMI), that DII in general correlated with gout risk. Their analysis also found that as DII values increase, so does gout risk, with an intermediate plateau in the slope, and sharp increase again after DII levels greater than 2.5. Overall, they revealed that DII positively “correlated to the presence of gout in a fully adjusted multivariable model.” Further examining subgroups, they found no statistically significant link between DII and gout in female, black, Mexican, or smoking populations.
 
Overall, the authors contend that these findings support an anti-inflammatory diet to prevent gout or improve its course in adults, as greater levels of pro-inflammation may predispose one to this condition.
 
Reference
 
1.    Zhang Y, Song J, Lai Y, Li A, Zhang Y, Zhou H, Zhao W, Zong Z, Wu R, Li H. Association between the dietary inflammatory index and gout in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2018. Heliyon. 2023;9(12):e22930. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22930.