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Unexpected Connections: Sleep Apnea May Increase Risk of Gout

Researchers are always looking for ways to connect the dots; to try to understand how two things that are seemingly unconnected might really be related.  Today's topic is no exception to that statement.





A study based in the United Kingdom has done just this.  The authors report in Journal of Rheumatology about a large scale study of persons with sleep apnea and how it might be related to gout. Their findings indicate that persons who suffered sleep apnea were almost twice as likely to have gout as someone who does not suffer from the sleep issue. The highest risk of having both diagnoses was increased in persons with elevated body mass indexes (BMI).

Two things about this study are worth pointing out:

1) Increased BMI is a  strong risk factor for both gout and sleep apnea.

2) Due to episodes of hypoxia, persons with sleep apnea are prone to elevated uric acid levels, thus increasing the risk of developing gout. You might recall that gout results from excess uric acid in circulation, leading to the deposit of uric acid crystals in the joints.

This makes a very large statement about using lifestyle changes for preventive purposes.  The best defense is never to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  What say you?

Sources: MedPageToday; Wikimedia


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