Gout may have a silver lining as new research suggests it reduces risk of Alzheimer’s
Gout, an extremely painful form of inflammatory arthritis, could significantly reduce a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, says a study in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.
Gout affects 1.4% of adults in the UK, that’s almost 900,000 people, and is caused by having too much uric acid in the blood which results in inflammation. But it is this very build-up of uric acid that researchers believe may protect against Alzheimer’s.
Although previous research has linked excess uric acid in the blood to increased risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases, it may also have a neuroprotective effect, with some studies suggesting uric acid may prevent or slow Parkinson’s disease.
So experts looked at medical records of 10.2 million people from 580 GPs in the UK to assess if gout was linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer’s.
They identified 59,224 people (average age of 65 years) with gout, alongside 238,805 people without the condition. Everyone had been registered with a general practice for at least a year before the study began, and the team excluded those who had been diagnosed with gout or dementia before this point.
During an average follow-up of five years the team identified 309 new cases of Alzheimer’s in people with gout, while 1,942 cases were found in those without gout.
After accounting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), lifestyle factors, socioeconomic status, heart conditions and use of heart drugs, the researchers found that people with gout were at 24% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s than those without gout.
“In conclusion, our findings provide the first population-based evidence for the potential protective effect of gout on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and support the purported neuroprotective role of uric acid,” the researchers say. “If confirmed by future studies, a therapeutic investigation that has been employed to prevent progression of Parkinson’s disease may be warranted for this relatively common and devastating condition.”
For gout support in the UK visit The UK Gout Society, www.ukgoutsociety.org.
Subscribe to Arthritis Digest, the UK’s fastest growing arthritis magazine for all the latest arthritis news, reviews and celebrity interviews. You’ll know what your doctor is talking about, what new drugs are in the pipeline and be up to date on helpful products. Hard copy and digital versions both available. Click here for more information.
Image credit Damian Gadal
