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Gout and risk for subsequent coronary heart disease. The Meharry-Hopkins Study

A C Gelber1, M J Klag, L A Mead

  • 1Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. agelber@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu

Archives of Internal Medicine
|July 14, 1997
PubMed

Insights

This study found no link between gout and increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men. Identifying gout is not recommended for primary prevention of CHD in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Rheumatology
  • Preventive medicine

Background:

  • Gout and hyperuricemia are common conditions.
  • Previous research suggested a potential link between gout and increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
  • CHD is a leading cause of mortality in men.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between gout and the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) in men.
  • To determine if gout is an independent risk factor for CHD.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of prospectively collected data from two longitudinal cohort studies (Meharry Cohort Study and Johns Hopkins Precursors Study).
  • Inclusion of 371 black men and 1181 white men.
  • Gout and CHD development were determined by physician self-report and validated using established criteria.
  • Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to evaluate the risk of CHD associated with gout, with adjustments for known CHD risk factors.

Main Results:

  • During a median 30-year follow-up, gout was not associated with an increased risk for incident CHD in either cohort.
  • Relative risk for CHD in Meharry men with gout was 1.20 (95% CI, 0.37-3.92).
  • Relative risk for CHD in Hopkins men with gout was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.24-1.79).
  • Multivariate analysis adjusting for known CHD risk factors did not change these findings.

Conclusions:

  • The study's findings in black and white male physicians do not support targeting gout identification for the primary prevention of CHD.
  • Gout does not appear to be a significant risk factor for CHD in men based on this research.
Abstract

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