Transient Increase Seen in CV Events Following Gout Flare

MONDAY, Aug. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Gout flares seem to be associated with a transient increase in the risk for cardiovascular events, according to a study published in the Aug. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Edoardo Cipolletta, M.D., from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a retrospective observational study to examine whether there is a transient increase in the risk for cardiovascular events after a recent gout flare. A nested case-control study was performed among 62,574 patients with gout, and a self-controlled case series was conducted among 1,421 patients with gout flare and a cardiovascular event.

The researchers found that compared with the 52,099 patients from the nested case-control study without cardiovascular events, the 10,475 patients with cardiovascular events had significantly higher odds of gout flare within the previous 0 to 60 and 61 to 120 days; no significant difference was seen in the odds of gout flare within the previous 121 to 180 days. In the self-controlled case series, cardiovascular event rates were 2.49, 2.16, and 1.70 per 1,000 person-days within 0 to 60, 61 to 120, and 121 to 180 days after a gout flare, respectively, compared with cardiovascular event rates of 1.32 per 1,000 person-days within 150 days before or 181 to 540 days after a gout flare.

“The findings of the study by Cipolletta et al should alert clinicians and patients to the increased cardiovascular risk in the weeks beginning after a gout flare and should focus attention on optimizing preventive measures,” write the authors of an accompanying editorial.

One author disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical technology industries.

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