In an article published in the Rheumatology section of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the authors found that drinking alcoholic beverages, especially beer or cider, is associated with a higher risk of gout, for both men and women. ~ Dr. Broussard
Consumption of Total and Specific Alcoholic Beverages and Long-Term Risk of Gout Among Men and Women
JAMA Network Open
Published Online: August 28, 2024
Vol. 7, No. 8
Jie-Qiong Lyu, MPH
Key Points
Question Is the association between alcohol consumption and risk of gout sex specific?
Findings In this cohort study involving 401 128 participants from the UK Biobank, higher total alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of gout for both sexes, more strongly for men than for women. Consumption of several specific alcoholic beverages (especially beer or cider) was associated with a higher risk of gout, similarly for men and women.
Meaning These findings suggest that specific alcoholic beverages are associated with a similar risk of gout for men and women and that alcohol consumption should be minimized for gout prevention regardless of sex.
Importance Previous studies on alcohol consumption and incident gout have mostly included men or combined both sexes, and the sex-specific associations between alcohol consumption and gout are poorly understood.
Objective To evaluate the consumption of total and specific alcoholic beverages in association with incident gout in men and women.
Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective cohort study included 401 128 participants in the UK Biobank aged 37 to 73 years who were free of gout at baseline (2006-2010). Participants were followed up through December 31, 2021, and data were analyzed between August 2023 and June 2024.
Exposure Questionnaire-based consumption of total alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages.
Main Outcomes and Measures The outcome was incident gout, identified using hospital records. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate sex-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs of incident gout associated with alcohol consumption, with a particular consideration of reverse causation bias.
Results The main analysis included 179 828 men (mean [SD] age, 56.0 [8.2] years) and 221 300 women (mean [SD] age, 56.0 [8.0] years). Current drinkers showed a higher risk of gout than never drinkers among men (HR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.30-2.18) but not among women (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.67-1.03). Among current drinkers, higher total alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of gout among both sexes and more strongly among men than women (men: HR, 2.05 [95% CI, 1.84-2.30]; women: HR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.12-1.61]). The most evident sex difference in the consumption of specific alcoholic beverages was observed for beer or cider (men: mean [SD], 4.2 [4.8] pints per week; women: mean [SD], 0.4 [1.1] pints per week). Consumption of champagne or white wine, beer or cider, and spirits each was associated with a higher risk of gout among both sexes, with beer or cider showing the strongest association per 1 pint per day (men: HR, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.53-1.67]; women: HR, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.02-2.57]). Some inverse associations between light to moderate consumption of specific alcoholic beverages and gout were eliminated after adjusting for other alcoholic beverages and excluding individuals who had reduced alcohol consumption for health reasons, self-reported poor health, or had cardiovascular disease, cancer, or kidney failure at baseline, or developed gout within the first 2 years of follow-up.
Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study, higher consumption of several specific alcoholic beverages was associated with a higher risk of gout among both sexes. The sex-specific associations for total alcohol consumption may be associated with differences between men and women in the types of alcohol consumed.