Increased intake of cider and beer associated with gout risk, finds Study

A new study by Jie-Qiong Lyu and team found that beer and cider increase the risk of gout in both men and women when compared to other forms of alcohol. The findings of this study were published in the Journal of American Medical Association. The sex-specific relationships between alcohol use and gout are not well established since most previous research on the subject has either involved males or mixed both sexes. Thus, this study was to assess the relationship between incident gout in men and women and the use of both total and particular alcoholic drinks.

A total of 4,01,128 people in the UK Biobank between the ages 37 to 73, who were gout-free at baseline (2006 to 2010), were included in this prospective cohort research. The data analysis took place between August 2023 and June 2024, and participants were monitored until December 31, 2021. The amount of alcohol consumed overall and in particular alcoholic beverages was measured using a questionnaire. Using medical data, incident gout was determined to be the result.

A total of 2,21,300 women and 1,79,828 males were in the primary analysis. Men who were drinking had a greater chance of developing gout than the ones who never drank, but not women. Increased overall alcohol intake among current drinkers was linked to an increased risk of gout in both sexes, with the association being stronger for men than for women. With regard to the intake of certain alcoholic beverages, beer or cider showed the most pronounced sex difference. For both sexes, drinking beer or cider, champagne or white wine, and spirits all increased the likelihood of developing gout and the highest correlation was seen with one pint of beer or cider per day.

After controlling for other alcoholic beverages and removing participants who had cut back on alcohol for health reasons, self-reported being in poor health, had kidney failure at baseline, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or or developed gout during the first two years of follow-up, some inverse associations between light to moderate consumption of certain alcoholic beverages and gout were eliminated. Overall, higher intake of a number of particular alcoholic drinks was linked to an increased incidence of gout in both sexes in this cohort analysis. 

Source:

Lyu, J.-Q., Miao, M.-Y., Wang, J.-M., Qian, Y.-W., Han, W.-W., Peng, X.-Z., Tao, H.-W., Yang, J., Chen, J.-S., Qin, L.-Q., Chen, W., & Chen, G.-C. (2024). Consumption of Total and Specific Alcoholic Beverages and Long-Term Risk of Gout Among Men and Women. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 7, Issue 8, p. e2430700). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30700