Consumption of Alcohol and the Risk of Gout Save

Alcohol is a risk factor for gout and flares. While the inciting potential differs among alcohol types, are these differences sex specific?

JAMA Network Open has published a cohort study from the UK Biobank shows that higher total alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of gout for both sexes, more strongly for men than for women. This was especially so for consumption of beer or cider.

This prospective cohort study included 401,128 participants, aged 37 to 73 years, free of gout between 2006-2010. Patient data and incident events were accrued through December 2021. Questionnaires were used to quantify consumption of total alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages.

The study included both men (179 828) and women (221 300) with a mean age of 56 years.  Key takeaways: 

• Current drinkers have a significantly higher risk of gout than never drinkers among men (HR, 1.69); but not women 
• Higher total alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of gout in both sexes, but higher in men than women (men: HR, 2.05 [95% CI, 1.84-2.30]; women: HR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.12-1.61])
• Men drink more beer or cider (men: mean [SD], 4.2 [4.8] pints per week; women: mean [SD], 0.4 [1.1] pints per week)

Higher consumption of alcoholic beverages was associated with a higher risk of gout among in both sexes. But higher risk in men may be attributable to greater consumption of beer and cider in men. Counseling on alcohol consumption should be considered for gout prevention, regardless of sex.