High fructose beverages and risk of gout in women

January 01, 0001

High fructose beverages and risk of gout in women

Sugary beverages can increase serum uric acid levels. These US researchers wanted to see if the intake of such drinks is linked to an increase in the risk of gout in women. They looked at intake of fructose-rich beverages and fructose and the risk of incident gout among women using the Nurses Health Study, a prospective cohort study spanning 22 years (n=78 906).

The researchers found: "During 22 years of follow-up, we documented 778 confirmed incident cases of gout. Increasing intake of sugar-sweetened soda was independently associated with increasing risk of gout. Compared with consumption of less than 1 serving per month of sugar-sweetened soda, the multivariate relative risk of gout for 1 serving per day was 1.74 and for 2 or more servings per day was 2.39. The corresponding relative risks for orange juice were 1.41 and 2.42. The absolute risk differences corresponding to these relative risks were 36 and 68 cases per 100 000 person-years for sugar- sweetened soda and 14 and 47 cases per 100 000 person-years for orange juice, respectively. Diet soft drinks were not associated with the risk of gout. Compared with the lowest quintile of fructose intake, the multivariate relative risk of gout in the top quintile was 1.62 (risk difference of 28 cases per 100 000 person-years)."

The researchers concluded: "Among this cohort of women, consumption of fructose-rich beverages is associated with an increased risk of incident gout, although the contribution of these beverages to the risk of gout in the population is likely modest given the low incidence rate among women."

This study find an increased risk of gout in women with increasing consumption of fructose-rich beverages, but the absolute risk increase was small.

For the full abstract, click here.

JAMA 304(20:2270-2278, 24 November 2010 © 2010 American Medical Association.
Fructose-Rich Beverages and Risk of Gout in Women. Hyon K. Choi, Walter Willett, Gary Curhan.

Category: T. Endocrine/Metabolic/Nutritional. Keywords: gout, women, fructose, beverages, Nurse Health Study, prospective cohort, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 17 December 2010

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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