Diuretic use implicated in gout attacks

	Tweet

Taking a diuretic or ‘water pill’ for heart failure or to lower blood pressure seems to more than triple the risk of suffering recurrent bouts of gout, according to a new report.

Gout is caused by deposition of urate crystals in joints, often the big toe joint. A link between diuretic use and excessive uric acid in the blood was established more than four decades ago, Dr. David J. Hunter, from Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues note in The Journal of Rheumatology.

However, until now, no studies have specifically investigated whether taking diuretics actually raises the risk of recurrent gout attacks.

The present study involved 197 patients, recruited over the Internet, who had a gout attack in the past year and agreed to allow access to their medical records.

Eighty percent of subjects were male and most had a college education. The researchers focused on diuretic use in the two days preceding a gout attack.

Overall, recent diuretic use appeared to increase the probability of recurrent gout attacks by 3.6-fold, the report indicates.

The team suggests that the answer is to avoid prescribing diuretics to people prone to gout. “Given the wide availability of alternative effective agents for the treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure,” they say, “clinicians have ample ability to individualize management for this population.”

SOURCE: Journal of Rheumatology, July 2006.

RELATED STORIES:
Over half of people with rheumatoid arthritis have periodontitis   Cancer rate 4 times higher in children with juvenile arthritis   Rheumatoid Arthritis Attacks the Heart   Statins may increase arthritis risk in elderly women   Sildenafil reduces Raynaud’s frequency in patients with systemic sclerosis   Specialist care delayed for women with arthritis   Rheumatoid Arthritis   Combining Medications Often Best Strategy to Battle Rheumatoid Arthritis   BUSPH study links rheumatoid arthritis to vitamin D deficiency   Why fish oils help and how they could help even more   Got Pain?   Increased arthritis pain may be due to fracture

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]