What Causes Gout?
Nearly 5 million Americans are living with gout, a painful form of inflammatory arthritis that most commonly affects the large joint in the big toe.
- Men over age 40 are more likely to develop gout than women (although it can affect women after menopause)
Most common signs6
- Severe and sudden pain at and around the affected joint
- Crushing pain
- Knife-like pain
- Swelling that could spread beyond the affected joint
- Redness
- Chills, fever, and loss of appetite
Although gout was once known as the “disease of kings” because of its association with a rich diet, today we know there are a number of contributing factors that can cause gout.
Main causes4-6
- Gout is caused by the build up of uric acid crystals in the joints
- Uric acid is a substance that forms as the result of a breakdown of purines in the body and proteins in some foods we eat
- Uric acid levels become high when the kidneys can’t remove uric acid from the body
- High levels of uric acid in the blood lead to high levels in the joint
- High levels of uric acid can lead to the formation of needle-like crystals, which cause painful swelling in the joint
Common risk factors4-6,9,10
- Advancing age
- Gender (gout affects 3 times as many men than women)
- Obesity
- Family history of gout
- Regularly drinking too much alcohol
- Ongoing use of certain medicines, including water pills, low-dose aspirin, cyclosporine (for patients who have had organ transplants), levodopa (for patients with Parkinson’s disease)
- Patients who have had organ transplants
- Exposure to lead
- Thyroid problems
Now that you know how gout develops, find ways to manage the pain.