Association between gout and epilepsy in adults - a retrospective cohort study with 244,964 primary care outpatients

Recently there has been a rising interest in the identification of possible risk factors for epilepsies. In the present study, we investigated the potential association between gout and epilepsy in an outpatient cohort in Germany.

Using the IQVIA Disease Analyzer database, we identified 112,482 patients with gout treated in outpatient departments. These were matched 1:1 to non-gout patients based on sex, age, yearly consultation frequency during the follow-up period, and diagnoses associated with an increased epilepsy risk documented prior to or on the index date. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between gout and epilepsy.

Within 10 years after the index date, epilepsy had been diagnosed in 2.2% of gout and 1.6% of non-gout patients (log-rank p<0.001). In the regression analysis, we observed a significant association between gout and subsequent epilepsy (HR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.21-1.44). The association was significant in all age groups, but strongest in the youngest age group (18-50) (HR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.44-1.2.41).

Our study demonstrates that gout is associated with an increased incidence of epilepsy. This finding could help us to understand the mechanisms of epilepsy and better protect affected individuals in the future.