Men Drink More Beer, Develop More Gout Than Women
A prospective cohort study of more than 400,000 British residents revealed that the strongest association between gout and alcohol consumption was seen among heavier drinkers and those who drank more beer and cider than wine or spirts.
Investigators conducted a questionnaire survey to evaluate the consumption of total and specific alcoholic beverages among 401,128 participants in the UK Biobank aged 37 to 73 years who were free of gout at baseline (2006-2010). They followed the participants through December 31, 2021, and data were analyzed between August 2023 and June 2024 to determine incident gout as shown in hospital records.
“The main analysis included 179,828 men and 221,300 women. Current drinkers showed a higher risk of gout than never drinkers among men (HR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.30-2.18) but not among women (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.67-1.03),” the authors wrote in JAMA Network Open. “Among current drinkers, higher total alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of gout among both sexes and more strongly among men than women (men: HR, 2.05 [95% CI, 1.84-2.30]; women: HR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.12-1.61]).”
Further, they reported, “The most evident sex difference in the consumption of specific alcoholic beverages was observed for beer or cider (men: mean [SD], 4.2 [4.8] pints per week; women: mean [SD], 0.4 [1.1] pints per week). Consumption of champagne or white wine, beer or cider, and spirits each was associated with a higher risk of gout among both sexes, with beer or cider showing the strongest association per 1 pint per day (men: HR, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.53-1.67]; women: HR, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.02-2.57]).”
Higher consumption of specific alcoholic beverages, in particular beer and cider, was associated with a higher risk of gout among both sexes. “The sex-specific associations for total alcohol consumption may be associated with differences between men and women in the types of alcohol consumed,” the authors concluded.
Reference:
Lyu JQ, Miao MY, Wang JM, et al. Consumption of total and specific alcoholic beverages and long-term risk of gout among men and women. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2430700. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3070
