Previous research has indicated that gout may increase the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but a new study has determined just how much greater the risk is.
Conclusively linking gout to kidney failure
In research published in BMJ Open, scientists looked at data from 68,897 adults with gout and 554,964 adults without gout. They followed both groups for 3.68 years, on average.
The study used the following guidelines to define advanced kidney disease:
The first occurrence of …
… kidney function at less than 10% of normal
… dialysis, transplant or end-stage kidney disease
… a doubling of serum creatinine from the baseline levels
… death associated with CKD
Even after controlling for factors like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, smoking, alcohol use and drugs that impact kidney function, the correlation between gout and kidney disease was shocking.
“The results were quite astonishing,” says Professor Austin Stack from the University of Limerick. “We discovered that patients who suffered from gout had a 29% higher risk of advanced chronic kidney disease compared to those without gout.”
This was especially true for those with end stage kidney disease, which created a twofold higher risk for the link to gout.
“Taken together,” says Stack, “the findings from this study suggest that gout is an independent risk factor for progression of CKD and kidney failure.”
Limitations to the study
The study was large, but still had some limitations.
First, gout was only assessed by looking at a doctor’s diagnosis or by the participant registering their use of urate-lowering treatments. But gout often goes undiagnosed, making it possible that some people were not counted among those with gout, even though they had it.
Also, the study was observational, so it’s possible that there could be an unmeasured variable that would otherwise affect the results.
Regardless, there’s enough information to encourage doctors to get gout under control in hopes of reducing the risk of CKD progression.
