A gout is a common form of inflammatory arthritis that occurs mainly because of the kidney’s inability to remove excess uric acid from the blood. On the other hand, obstructive sleep apnea is a very common type of sleep apnea, which is a sleep-related breathing condition. It may sound bizarre, but studies have found that obstructive sleep apnea may lead to gout. According to a study published in 2018, the risk of developing gout was higher in people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea.
In this article, we will take a look at how sleep apnea increases gout risk and whether managing this condition helps in gout relief.
What Does The Study Say?
The risk of gout is highest within one and two years after obstructive sleep apnea is diagnosed. People diagnosed with sleep apnea have a 50 % higher chance of developing gout than those without this condition. However, according to this new study, the risk persists long after diagnosing sleep apnea in an individual. After a sleep apnea diagnosis, the elevated risk of gout continued for a longer period, with those suffering from sleep apnea having a 45 % higher risk than those without.
Intermittent hypoxia, or oxygen shortage, generates an excessive production of uric acid in your body, which can lead to the development of gout. This brings up the question of whether lowering blood uric acid levels by correcting hypoxia in sleep apnea with CPAP treatment. This might conceivably treat existing gout as well as lower the chance of incident gout.
Why Is Gout Risk Higher In People With Normal Body Weight?
People with a healthy BMI as well as those who are overweight or obese were studied. Surprisingly, individuals who were of normal weight had a higher risk. This is because the degree of obstructive sleep apnea affects how the findings are interpreted. CPAP therapy is normally prescribed to individuals with mild or severe obstructive apnea. For obese people with sleep apnea, doctors also recommend weight loss for managing this condition.
It’s also worth noting that, in some situations, the circumference of the neck and waist, rather than body mass index, may be stronger predictors of sleep apnea since they account for obesity distribution and are thus linked to visceral obesity, which is linked to the risk obstructive sleep apnea among other things.
In short, if you have sleep apnea, to ensure that your gout treatment is a success, you should also seek treatment for sleep apnea.
