Proven At Last - Alcohol Consumption Increases Increases Risk Of Gout (pp xxx, 1277)
The first large epidemiological study to assess the age-old belief that alcohol consumption increases the risk of gout is published in this week's issue of THE LANCET. A prospective study of nearly 50,000 men showed that beer drinking was more likely to be associated with gout than spirits; whereas moderate wine consumption was not linked to a risk of the disease. Alcohol consumption causes hyperuricaemia (increased production of uric acid) which when deposited in joints leads to gout. The association between alcohol consumption and risk of gout has been suspected since ancient times, but has not been prospectively confirmed. Additionally, potential differences in risk of gout posed by diffe