[Health Tip] Young Men Should Also Watch for Gout... "Metabolic Syndrome Increases Risk"

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] A study has revealed that young men with metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of developing gout. The medical community emphasized the importance of managing metabolic syndrome.

Professor Eun Younghee of the Rheumatology Department at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, along with Professors Lee Jaejun and Kim Hyeongjin from Samsung Seoul Hospital, conducted a follow-up study over 7 years and 4 months on 3.56 million men aged 20 to 39 who underwent health check-ups between 2009 and 2012.

The results showed that individuals with metabolic syndrome had a 2.4 times higher risk of developing gout compared to those without metabolic syndrome. Among the factors of metabolic syndrome, hypertriglyceridemia and abdominal obesity were particularly strongly associated with gout, and the more factors of metabolic syndrome a person had, the higher their risk of gout.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as having three or more of the following: hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and abdominal obesity. Metabolic syndrome is well known as a risk factor for diabetes, fatty liver, and cardiovascular disease.

The research team also conducted a follow-up study to examine whether changes in metabolic syndrome affect the occurrence of gout. Analyzing 1.29 million men aged 20 to 39 who participated in three consecutive health check-ups at two-year intervals, they found that those who chronically had metabolic syndrome had nearly a fourfold higher risk of gout compared to those who never had metabolic syndrome. If a person without metabolic syndrome developed it, their risk of gout more than doubled, whereas if a person with metabolic syndrome recovered from it, their risk of gout was reduced by nearly half.

Professor Eun Younghee of the Rheumatology Department at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital stated, "It is well known that the number of young male gout patients is rapidly increasing, but there has been little research on the risk factors causing gout. These studies suggest that metabolic syndrome is an important risk factor for gout in young men, and active management of metabolic syndrome is essential for the prevention of gout."

This research was published in the international academic journal Frontiers in Medicine and the American Rheumatology Society journal Arthritis & Rheumatology.