What Increases Your Risk
is caused by too much
in the blood (hyperuricemia). The following
risk factors can either cause hyperuricemia or make joints more susceptible to
the formation of uric acid crystals:
- Being male
- Family history of
gout
- Moderate, regular,
or heavy consumption of alcohol, especially beer
- A diet rich in
meat and seafood, which can be high in
purines
- Use of medicines that remove salt
and water from the body ()
- Regular use of
aspirin (more than 1 or 2 aspirin a day)
- Frequent episodes
of
- Acute illness or
infection
- Lead exposure (may occur through work, diet, or
hobbies)
- Very low-calorie diets
- Injury to a
joint
Gout and other conditions
Certain other conditions and diseases appear more often in people who
have gout than in people who don't, though studies have not shown a clear
relationship. It is thought that gout shares risk factors (such as obesity,
, and high levels of
) with certain diseases,
including:
- .
- .
- Hardening of the arteries ().
- Heart disease.