Metabolic Syndrome Characteristics in Gout Patients

Abstract

Gout is commonly associated with obesity, arterial hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. However, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome has not been widely recognized in patients with gout. We studied 41 patients (37 males) with primary gout to assess the prevalence and characteristics of the associated metabolic syndrome. Twenty-one patients with gout (51%) showed ≥3 criteria for the metabolic syndrome. Pathological conditions associated were obesity (21/41), high blood pressure (30/41), dyslipidemia (30/41), and fasting plasma glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL (22/41). The most frequent triad was the presence of increased waist circumference, elevated fasting plasma glucose, and hypertension. Mean serum urate concentration did not differ significantly in gout patients with the metabolic syndrome (8.5 mg/dl) and without (8.1 mg/dl). Given the complications associated with metabolic syndrome, its diagnosis may determine the long-term treatment of patients with gout.

Keywords:

• Gout
• metabolic syndrome
• uric acid
• hyperuricemia

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias FIS 06/0019 and FIS 08/0009 and by RECAVA (Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares). We are indebted to the nursing staff (Arantxa Sánchez Martín, Gemma Santas Camino, Inés Narillos Sánchez, Cristina Martín García, Ana Moreno Guerrero, Ainara López Sánchez-Seco, Juan Miguel Castro Alvarez, and Rocio Campos-Guereta Martel) for excellent patient care. Drs. José Suero Palancar, Isabel Laguna Sorinas, Ma Angeles Martínez López, Beatriz Martínez Núñez, referred their patients for the study. We gratefully acknowledge Carolina Velasco Garcia for her superb work as clinical research associate.