Study finds no association between gout and neurodegenerative diseases in general population

A study published in Scientist Reports points out that gout may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease in younger or overweight people. The study was conducted in a representative Korean population.

Background

Gout is a common and complex form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by severe joint pain. The condition is caused by impaired purine metabolism, resulting in the buildup of uric acid in the blood and the formation of monosodium urate crystals. These urate crystals deposit in the joints, causing inflammation and severe pain.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease of the brain, characterized by loss of memory and learning. It is the most common form of dementia. Extracellular aggregation of beta-amyloid plaques and intracellular accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein are major drivers of Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis.

Parkinson’s disease is another neurodegenerative disease characterized by a wide range of motor and non-motor symptoms. The progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain is primarily responsible for the development of Parkinson’s disease.

Oxidative stress is a major feature of neurodegenerative diseases. With its powerful antioxidant property, uric acid appears to have a positive impact on these conditions. Since gout is characterized by excessive accumulation of uric acid in the blood, it is possible to have an association between the pathogenesis of gout, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

In the current study, scientists explored whether gout has a positive or negative influence on the pathogenesis of these two neurodegenerative diseases.

study design

This longitudinal study involved a representative population of Korean adults. A total of 18,079 adults who were diagnosed with gout between 2003 and 2015 were enrolled in the gout group. In the comparison group, a total of 72,316 gout-free adults were enrolled.

Participants in the gout group were matched with participants in the comparison group at a 1:4 ratio in terms of age, gender, monthly income, and residential area.

The association between gout and Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease was assessed after adjusting for potential confounders, including demographic factors, body mass index (BMI), risk factors related to the syndrome metabolic, lifestyle factors and comorbidities.

Important observations

Statistical analyzes conducted in the study revealed that gout does not significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease in the general Korean population. The adjusted hazard ratios for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease were 1.01 times and 1.16 times higher, respectively, in the gout groups than in the comparison group.

Taking into account all selected confounders, subgroup analyzes revealed that the risk of both neurodegenerative diseases is significantly higher in gout patients under 60 years of age. In addition, a significantly higher risk of Parkinson’s disease was observed in overweight gout patients.

Significance of the study

The study describes no significant association between gout and Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease in a representative population of Korean adults. However, gout can significantly increase the risk of both neurodegenerative diseases in people under 60. Similarly, being overweight is another risk factor for the onset of Parkinson’s disease in gout patients.

Being an observational study, the scientists could not mechanically substantiate the lack of association between gout and neurodegenerative diseases. However, they mentioned in the article that uric acid can induce both antioxidant and inflammatory responses and that the interaction between these two strong actions must be carefully analyzed to understand the influence of gout in the pathogenesis. neurodegenerative diseases.