Gout linked to heart disease risk in women

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Gout in women may signal greater heart attack risk, Canadian researchers found.

The study, published online ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, found heart risks were significantly higher among women with gout. These women were 39 percent more likely than women without gout to have a heart attack, but men with gout were only 11 percent more likely than those not having gout to have a heart attack.

The findings held true after adjusting for factors, such as underlying health problems, likely to influence the results.

Gout -- joint inflammation resulting from excess uric acid deposits associated with a diet high in purines, obesity, weight gain, high alcohol intake, high blood pressure, poorly functioning kidneys and certain drugs -- is known to boost the risk of a heart attack in men, the researchers said, but little has been known about the impact of gout on women's cardiovascular health.

The authors tracked heart health for seven years on average for more than 9,500 gout patients and 48,000 people without the disease, ages 65 and older. There were 3,268 heart attacks, almost one-third in women.