Scientists from Ewha Women’s University (Korea) have found that gout can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in adults up to age 60, but after that age the effect of gout on cognitive and motor impairment is minimal. Research published in the journal scientific reports.
The study included 18,000 patients from South Korea who were diagnosed with gout between 2003 and 2015. The comparison group included 72 thousand people without gout. The association between gout and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases was evaluated after adjusting for gender, age, body mass index (BMI), and other risk factors.
Researchers have found that gout does not increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in people over 60. However, the risk was significantly higher in younger patients under 60 years of age, particularly if they were overweight.
Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis. In this disease, the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the formation of sodium monourate crystals occur. These crystals accumulate in the joints, causing inflammation and severe pain. As this was an observational study, the reason for this association is unknown.