What are the main causes of gout?

Gout and gout flares have several controllable and uncontrollable risk factors. Since we can not do much about the uncontrollable risk factors, prevention and optimal management of controllable risk factors can reduce the risk of gout. Let’s take a look at the risk factors associated with gout:

Family History

20% to 80% of people who have gout have a family history of this disease. So it can be said that if you have a family member who has gout, you are more likely to develop it too.

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Gender

Gout is more frequent in men than in women, especially between the age of 40 to 50. Risk of gout among women increases after their menopause because their uric acid level rises at that time.

Age

It is more common in adults between the age of 30 to 50 than in young people and children. So, try to follow a healthy lifestyle, diet and be physically active as much as you can after crossing the age of 30.

Obesity

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing gout as there is more tissue available for breakdown and the extra weight put stress on your joints, which leads to excess uric acid production.

Alcohol consumption

Too much consumption of alcohol or binge drinking can cause gout as alcohol interferes with the removal of uric acid from the body.

Unhealthy Diet

Overeating purine-rich food like meat or seafood increases the level of uric acid in the blood that can cause aggravated gout attacks.

Lead exposure

In some cases, uncontrollable environmental factors like exposure to lead can also cause gout.

Medical Condition

Some people develop gout due to an underlying medical condition such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart and kidney diseases.

Most of these risk factors can be easily controlled by following a healthy lifestyle and diet. By ignoring these risk factors of gout, one can face complications like recurring gout attacks, advanced stage of gout, kidney stones caused by Urate crystals may collect in the urinary tract, etc.

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