First acute gout attacks commonly precede features of the metabolic syndrome

To determine in gout patients, the temporal relationship between the first gout attack and the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS), its components and complications.

We included consecutive gout patients attending 2 Rheumatology Departments from Spain (Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía) and México (Hospital General de México). Variables included demographic, clinical, and biochemical data: Hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low high density lipoproteins (HDL), obesity, hyperglycemia or diabetes, MS (Adult Treatment Pane III criteria), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and chronic renal failure (CRF). Age and date (year) of the diagnosis of first acute gout attack and associated diseases were obtained.

Four hundred seven patients were included (96% men); mean age at onset, mean age at inclusion, and mean duration of the disease were 39.7 +/- 13, 52.5 +/- 13, and 13.7 +/- 9.9 years, respectively. In 90%, the first attack of gout preceded the diagnosis of features of MS, MS itself or its complications (CRF and IHD), 9.8% had previous diagnosis of at least 1 associated disease. At the time of the inclusion (mean, 13.7 years after the first attack), 93% had at least 1 associated disease. The most common were hypertriglyceridemia, 63%; obesity, 54%; hypertension, 45.6%; MS, 40%; hyperglycemia, 37%; low HDL, 17%; diabetes, 15%; CRF, 17%; and IHD, 6.6%. Although patients from the 2 Rheumatology Departments had several demographic and clinical differences, in both groups most of the patients (70% Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía and 95% Hospital General de México) had no diagnosis of any associated disease previous to first bouts and at inclusion most of them had the diagnosis of at least 1 associated disease.

First attacks of gout may precede the diagnosis of metabolic abnormalities and associated diseases, and provids a unique opportunity to diagnose, prevent, and/or retard long-term complications in these patients.