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Saturday, November 12, 2011

High Uric Acid Linked to Both Gout and Diabetes

High Uric Acid Linked to Both Gout and Diabetes

Study Shows People With High Uric Acid Levels May Have Higher Risk for Diabetes
By
WebMD Health News

Nov. 11, 2011 (Chicago) -- People with gout should make sure their uric acid levels are under control -- even if they're not experiencing symptoms of the painful arthritic disorder.

"Many people are walking around with uncontrolled uric acid levels and we used to not worry about it -- if they're not having symptoms, who cares?" says Eric Matteson, MD, MPH, head of rheumatology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

But new studies show that high uric acid levels in the blood are associated with a nearly 20% increased risk of developing diabetes and a more than 40% increased risk of developing kidney disease.

Uric acid is a chemical substance that can build up in the blood to a higher than normal level and lead to gout.

High Uric Acid and Diabetes

For the new studies, researchers reviewed the records of about 2,000 men with gout in a Veterans Administration database. None had diabetes or kidney disease at the start of the study.

Eswar Krishnan, MD, assistant professor of rheumatology at Stanford University, presented the findings here at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting. Krishnan consults for Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, which makes a gout medication and funded the study.

Over a three-year period, 9% of men with gout who had uncontrolled uric acid levels developed diabetes, compared with 6% of those whose uric levels were under control.

After taking into account other risk factors for diabetes, this corresponded to a 19% higher risk of diabetes in those with uncontrolled uric acid levels.

A blood uric acid level greater than 7 is considered uncontrolled.

Risk of Diabetes and Kidney Disease

Read More...
http://www.webmd.com/news/20111111/high-uric-acid-linked-to-both-gout-and-diabetes?src=RSS_PUBLIC

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