Excess adiposity and genetic predisposition were found to contribute to the risk of gout among U.S. women in a large prospective study. The risks were the highest when both the factors were present, noted researchers.

Data from the Nurses′ Health Study (NHS) was analyzed. The analysis included 18,244 women from the NHS I study (mean age 47 years), 8,246 women from NHS II study (mean age 37 years), and 10,888 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) (mean age 54 years).

Researchers noted that the relative risk for incident gout was 1.49 (95% CI 1.42-1.56) for 5 kg/m2 rise in BMI and 1.43 (95% CI 1.35-1.52) per standard deviation increase in genetic risk score. Among women with high BMI as well as higher genetic risk scores, the relative risk reached 2.18 (95% CI 2.03 to 2.36). The findings are published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases… (Medpage Today)