Gout is becoming more prevalent internationally at a worrying rate, even as gout treatment stays as mismanaged as in the past. As per James O’Dell of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the quick growth of gout prevalence has encouraged an international gout epidemic. O’Dell was speaking to the people who attended the 2021 ACR Convergence annual meeting.
In a recent interview with Healio, O’Dellsaid that the concept of the gout epidemic is somewhat lost in this coronavirus pandemic world. O’Dell also said that the average level of uric acid in the US is more as compared to 100 years before.
As for O’Dell, the level has increased considerably in the standard global population thanks to the increasing obesity issue, diet, and many other factors. Besides its growing prevalence, he further regards gouty arthritis as among the most mistreated chronic conditions. In doing so, O’Dellhas criticized the American College of Physicians (ACP) and its guidance that demands a much more conservative strategy to reduce serum urate levels, compared with ACR guidelines.
O’Dell told the audience that there exists big controversy about gout treatment between EULAR and the American College of Rheumatology, versus ACP. For your information, ACR and EULAR are rheumatology experts in the US and Europe. As per O’Dell, ACP fails to recognize the importance of treating gout disease to keep the level of uric acid low.
Global Gout Prevalence
As per a 2020 study featured in the journal of the American College of Rheumatology, the international prevalence of gouty arthritis doubled to around 41 million cases five years ago. The study also discovered that international gout incidence had doubled in that time to around 7.40 million.
Meanwhile, as per 2019 data featured in the said journal, it has become the most prevalent inflammatory arthritis type in the US. According to that data, around 4% of people had gout, whereas not even 1% of Americans had rheumatoid arthritis.
As per TuhinaNeogi of the Boston University School of Medicine, gouty arthritis cases have been increasing in developed nations. Neogi said that the said study offers some insights regarding the factors that potentially contribute to the twofold increase in gouty arthritis prevalence in around 30 years. There have been increases in the worldwide population and life expectancy since then, but Neogi does not feel that those factors are enough to explain the dramatic spike in gouty arthritis prevalence.
