Gout Risk Factors: Who Is At Risk of Gout?

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Are you at risk of gout? Here, I’ve listed key gout risk factors so that you can see how much you may be at risk…

Hyperuricea — the condition where there are high uric acid levels in the body — is a leading cause of gout. Around 70% of people who suffer from gout produce too much uric acid, whilst about 30% can’t eliminate it from their systems effectively enough.

So what are the things that can give rise to high uric acid in people?

Lifestyle Issues

1. Your Diet

Foods contain compounds called ‘purines’ that, when they breakdown during your normal metabolizing process, produce uric acid. And some foods are higher in purines than others. If your diet is high in purines (as western diets tend to be) then your uric acid levels can be elevated.

2. Too Much Alcohol

Alcohol — beer in particular — is known to produce hyperuricemia because of it’s ability to hamper the normal removal of uric acid from the body. It is believed that, on average, 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink a day for women, can lead to hyperuricemia.

3. Being Overweight

Someone who is overweight has a higher risk of hyperuricemia, simply because there is more tissue to be broken down. The human body also contains purines, so that when these breakdown uric acid is produced, therefore the more tissue to breakdown, the more uric acid produced. The risk exists if you are 30 pounds or more above your model weight.

Other gout risk factors are…

Family History

There is research that suggests that 1 out of 4 gout sufferers has a family history of gout. So, if you have a family history of gout — or arthritis because gout accounts for around 5% of arthritis cases — then you have a higher risk of gout than someone who hasn’t such a history.

Medical Conditions / Medications

Some medical conditions can help to increase your gout risk. These are conditions such as; diabetes, high cholesterol, narrowing of the arteries, high blood pressure, and chemotherapy which can release a lot of uric acid into the bloodstream.

And some medications can also increase your gout risk, e.g. medications for high blood pressure, diuretics, niacin (vitamin), cyclosporine (immuno-suppressant), levodopa (for Parkinson’s disease), meds that use salicylic acid (e.g. aspirin), and so on.

Age and Sex

Gout affects men more than women, because men usually have higher uric acid levels in their bodies compared to women anyway. On average, men seem to get gout between the ages of 30 and 50.

Women don’t usually start getting gout until they are over 50. It is believed that this happens because a woman’s uric acid levels naturally rise after the menopause.

Relatively very few gout cases have been diagnosed in children and young adults. 

By knowing and understanding the risk factors leading to gout, you are now better able to help yourself prevent gout attacks in the future. Please now look around this website for more information on symptoms, causes and treatment options.

Related Posts:

• Causes of Gout in Men – Are You at Risk?

Causes of Gout in Men – Are You at Risk?

The causes of gout in men – and women for that matter — are needle-like uric acid crystals that have been deposited in the joints, tendons and surrounding tissue.

Your body’s natural inflammatory reaction to these are really what causes the symptoms of gout; redness, heat, inflammation, stiffness, swelling, and, horrible pain.

Uric acid crystals form when there are higher-than-normal levels of uric acid (relatively speaking: every-one’s different) in the bloodstream. This condition of elevated uric acid is called “hyperuricemia.”

Uric acid is actually a byproduct of the breakdown of natural chemical compounds in our bodies’ cells called “purines.”  These are extremely important to us because they help to convert genes into protein, food into energy, aid muscle contraction, help eliminate excess nitrogen, and, help protect against cancer-causing agents.

During this process they breakdown completely and uric acid is formed as a result. This then circulates around the bloodstream. But some uric acid is beneficial because it helps to look after, and repair, blood vessel linings, etc.

Normally, your kidneys keep uric acid at these healthy levels by processing the uric acid and excreting the excess out of your system via urine, with a small amount via stools.

Sometimes, though, either because there is too much uric acid being produced, or, your kidneys aren’t working well enough, excess uric acid is retained in the blood, leading to hyperuricemia and hence gout.

Now let’s look at the risk factors…

Men are at a higher risk of contracting gout than women. Their uric acid levels tend to be relatively higher than women’s.  And they typically get gout between the ages of 30 and 50 years, whereas women tend to be more prone to gout attacks after the menopause.

Family history has an impact on your risk of getting gout. Research has shown that 25% of people who have gout have  a family history of gout or arthritis. Gout is a form of arthritis and is responsible for some 5% of all arthritis.

Your lifestyle habits can also lead to higher risks of getting gout…

For example, drinking alcohol regularly can lead to hyperuricemia because alcohol — particularly beer — works against the efficient excretion of uric acid from your body.

Also, if you eat lots of fatty red meat, poultry, seafood and other high protein foods, you are more prone to gout. This is because purines, as described earlier, also exist in our foods at varying concentrations. And, generally speaking, high protein foods have high levels of purines in them. So your diet is a key risk factor.

As is you weight. If you are overweight, your risk is increased because there are more cells containing more purines which then produce more uric acid in your system. And often your weight is a function of eating a lot of the foods mentioned above, so the two act together to raise the risk even more.

But underlying medical conditions and even medications can raise the risk of gout, e.g.  things like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and even chemotherapy. Medication such as aspirin, and diuretics used to treat high blood pressure, heart disease, etc., can also raise the risk.

So, although uric acid crystals actually cause the symptoms of gout, there are many issues that need to be considered when assessing the risk of a first gout attack, or, continuing gout attacks. And once having suffered one gout attack your risk of recurring gout is very high.

Please, take your time to navigate around to get more information on diet etc., and other natural remedies for gout.

Related Posts:

• Gout Risk Factors: Who Is At Risk of Gout?
• Gout Causes and Prevention
• What is Gout? A Simple Guide to What Gout Is
• Gout Symptoms, Causes & Natural Treatment