[Gout in women]

An analysis of clinical symptoms and characteristic features of a course of gout in 10 women (3.4% of 290 gout patients) has shown that gout patients can represent a heterogeneous group in terms of age, predisposing causes (hereditary predisposition, change in a hormonal pattern, obesity and iatrogenic effects like the use of diuretics), concomitant pathology and variants of a disease course. Two clinical variants have been defined: classical in which disease develops during or after occurrence of menopause along a favorable course, without tophi and signs of chronic arthritis, and atypical which develops at a younger age, has a grave course and can rapidly progress (chronic polyarthritis with frequent recurrences can sometimes develop in the course of 2-3 yrs). No significant variations in the clinical picture were noted in comparison with those in men.