Background:Gout is the most prevalent inflammatory arthritis globally. Despite treatment advances, the prevalence of gout has continued to increase over the last several decades. There has also been increasing evidence that gout has a strong association with the metabolic syndrome. This indicates that gout is likely both an inflammatory and a metabolic disease that has a significant effect on quality of life and healthcare costs. Although current recommendations support aggressive medical therapy for gout treatment, dietary counseling is less emphasized. We hypothesize that emphasis on this nonpharmacological therapy will likely improve management and the metabolic syndrome in gout patients.Objectives:To analyze the effectiveness of dietary counseling on gout management and risk factors for metabolic syndrome in gout patients at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach, CA (VALB).Methods:A retrospective cohort study was created from 2009-2016 involving Long Beach Veterans Affairs Hospital gout patients (n= 119) based on International Classification of Disease version 9 or 10. Patients were then stratified into two cohorts: received diet counseling (n=90) and no diet counseling (n=29). Data was reviewed for 24 months following initial gout diagnosis or intervention. Management was evaluated based on frequency of flares and related ED visits, change in creatinine clearance, serum uric acid levels (sUA), and changes to risk factors for metabolic syndrome including blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol panel and hemoglobin A1c levels at six-month intervals.Results:Although patients in both cohorts were noted to have decreased number of gout attacks, patients who received diet counseling had a significant decrease in number of gout attacks by month 12 (0=0.004). In addition, after 6 months, patients who received diet counseling were more likely to have sUA at goal (sUA<6 for nontophaeous gout and sUA<5 for tophaceous gout) (p=0.003). These patients were also noted to have improved creatinine clearance (p=0.08) and increased HDL (p =0.08). In addition, patients with improved HDL and LDL values more likely to have improved sUA levels and decreased ED visits (R2=0.4, slope 0.14 and R2=0.4, slope 0.05, respectively) by month 6. Patients with improved hemoglobin A1c levels were also noted to have a significant outcome in lowering serum uric acid level at month 18 (R2=0.9, slope 2.6).Conclusion:Gout patients who receive diet counseling had lower rate of future attacks and better control of sUA. In addition, these gout patients were also noted to have improvement in some risk factors associated with the metabolic syndrome. Notably, patients who had better control of their hemoglobin A1c levels were able to have lower serum uric acid levels. This may imply that controlling diabetes in patients may also help improve gout management. Given the serious complications and increased cardiovascular risks that can be associated with metabolic syndrome, optimization of gout through a nonpharmacologic intervention such as diet counseling can enhance clinical outcomes and optimize healthcare resources.References:[1]Rai SK et al. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, Western diet, and risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2017;357:j1794.[2]Álvarez-lario B, et al. Hyperuricemia and gout; the role of diet. Nutr Hosp. 2014;29(4):760-70.Disclosure of Interests:None declared
Association Between Serum Uric Acid Level and Components of the Metabolic Syndrome