Association between Gout and Dyslipidemia: A Nested Case-Control Study Using a National Health Screening Cohort

The association between lipid levels and uric acid disorders remains controversial. We evaluated the association between dyslipidemia and gout in a large cohort from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort. Among the 514,866 participants aged ≥40 years, 16,679 gout participants were selected and matched with 66,716 control participants for income, region of residence, sex, and age. We used the ICD-10 codes to define dyslipidemia (E78) and gout (M10) and diagnosis was confirmed when each was reported ≥2 times. The odds ratios (ORs) of dyslipidemia history were calculated using conditional logistic regression in crude, partial, and fully adjusted models. The days of statin use, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose level, total cholesterol, obesity, Charlson comorbidity index, alcohol consumption, and smoking were used as covariates. Patients with gout had a significantly higher dyslipidemia history than those without gout (33.1% vs. 24.0%, p < 0.001). The association was significant after adjustment (OR in partial adjusted model = 1.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.44−1.57; OR in fully adjusted model = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.37−1.49). These findings were consistent with the subgroup analysis. Our findings suggest that dyslipidemia history is more likely in patients with gout aged ≥40 years than in healthy controls among Korean population.