Black adults in the United States are more likely to experience gout than their White counterparts, according to a recent study.
Natalie McCormick, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues arrived at this finding based on an analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of 18,693 US adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2016.
The age-standardized prevalence of gout was significantly higher among Black women than White women (3.5% vs 2.0%) and Black men than White men (7.0% vs 5.4%), Dr McCormick’s team reported in JAMA Network Open. In age-adjusted analyses, Black women had significant 81% higher odds of gout compared with White women and Black men had significant 26% higher odds for gout compared with White men. After adjusting for age, poverty, education level, diet, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other risk factors, the associations between race and gout were no longer significant.
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“These findings suggest that racial disparities in gout may be explained by diet, social determinants of health, and CKD, which could help identify interventions to reduce these disparities,” according to the authors.
The presence of gout was ascertained during NHANES home interviews by asking participants, “Has a doctor or other health professional ever told you that you had gout?”
The study also revealed racial disparities in hyperuricemia prevalence, which was significantly higher among Black women than White women (10.5% vs 5.6%) and Black men than White men (11.0% vs 7.8%). The odds of hyperuricemia were a significant 2-fold higher among Black vs White women and 1.4-fold higher among Black vs White men, according to Dr McCormick and colleagues. These racial differences became nonsignificant after adjusting for all risk factors.
The investigators defined hyperuricemia as serum urate levels of 6.8 mg/dL or higher in women and 7.8 mg/dL or higher in men.
The study population included 3304 Black women, 6195 White women, 3085 Black men, and 6109 White men. Their mean ages were 44.8, 49.8, 43.6, and 48.2 years, respectively.
Reference
McCormick N, Yokose C, Joshi AD, et al. Racial and sex disparities in gout prevalence among US adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(8). Published online August 15, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.26804
