Truth about gout: if in doubt, cut beer out :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Truth about gout: if in doubt, cut beer out

Posted by admin on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 07:56 AM

US researchers have for the first time confirmed long-held suspicions that alcohol increases the risk of gout. But unlike beer and spirits, moderate consumption of wine does not affect the risk.
Over 12 years, a team at the Massachusetts General Hospital examined the records of 47,000 medical staff, who did not have gout at the start of the study. The researchers investigated the lifestyle and diet of the 730 men who developed gout, and found four or five daily drinks increased the risk by 2 times, while one drink increased the risk by 30 per cent. The study, published in The Lancet, found two or more beers a day increased the risk, in comparison with non-beer drinkers, by 2 times. Two shots of spirits a day increased the risk 1.6 times, but moderate wine consumption - two glasses daily - had no effect. Gout, a painful condition affecting one in 500 people in Australia, is caused by a build-up of uric acid in blood. The acid forms crystals around damaged joints, often the ankles, feet or toes, causing inflammatory arthritis. The team leader, Hyon Choi, suggested purine, chemicals found in high levels in beer, might be a cause. The purine in beer, guanosine, is readily absorbed by the body and might boost blood levels of uric acid. Dr Choi said gout sufferers should try to limit or even cut out beer consumption, but wine might be allowed, "given other health benefits associated with moderate alcohol consumption". Rheumatologist Peter Youssef, of Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, warned that people with gout should drink no more than two glasses of wine daily. "Gout can also be an indicator that people have other problems . . . such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high blood lipid levels . . . all these other things that need to be looked at," Dr Youssef said.

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