Any spirit alcohol consumption predicts ultrasound-identified tophi in gout
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Both excessive and long-term alcohol consumption, as well as any spirit consumption, predict the development of ultrasound-detected tophi and sub-tophi in patients with gout, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.
“This study aimed to evaluate the association of alcohol consumption with the presence and development of ultrasound-detected tophi and sub-tophi in a Chinese gout population,” Changgui Li, PhD, of the Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, in China, told Healio.
Writing in Arthritis Care & Research, Li and colleagues stated, “No studies have investigated the relationship between the quantity, duration, or type of alcohol consumed and the development of tophi, and no study has separately evaluated the effects of alcohol consumption on the development of US-detected tophi and sub-tophi.”
Li and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study of 584 patients with gout who underwent ultrasound and physical joint examinations at the gout clinic at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University. Gout classification was based on the 2015 ACR/EULAR criteria, and patients were excluded if they had a history of trauma at the impacted joint, if they had a history of non-gout arthritis, or if the affected joint was flaring during the examination.
The researchers collected participants’ blood samples and examined fasting blood glucose, serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum alanine aminotransferase, serum aspartate aminotransferase and serum urate.
Meanwhile, alcohol history was assessed by physicians and collected through the Biobank Information Management System (BIMS), which collected patient information via a survey. Patients were then classified as non-drinkers, former drinkers or regular drinkers. Patients classified as regular drinkers then answered more questions about frequency, alcohol type and quantity consumed.
Ultrasound examinations were performed by two experienced sonographers, and all joint regions were investigated in a standardized way. The sonographers investigated the elbows, wrists, metacarpals, knees, ankles, calcaneus and the first through fifth metatarsophalangeal joints.
In all, 554 patients were included in the analysis. Compared with non-drinkers, participants who consumed more than 70 g per week, those who drank for 10 or more years and those who reported drinking spirits demonstrated a greater proportion, size and number of ultrasound-detected tophi (P < .05), according to the researchers. Accounting for confounders, excessive drinking (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.16-2.78), long-term drinking (OR = 1.96; 95% CI, 1.22-3.15) and consuming spirits (OR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.11-2.95) were significantly associated with the presence of ultrasound-detected tophi. Moderate drinking, defined as less than 70 g per week, was associated with larger or more tophi in patients who already had ultrasound-detected tophi and sub tophi, the authors wrote.
“Our results demonstrated that gout patients who consumed higher quantities of alcohol, for more than 10 years, and those who consumed spirits were more likely to have larger and multiple ultrasound-detected tophi and sub-tophi,” Li said. “Reducing alcohol consumption is a key strategy for managing gout.”
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