Researchers at the University of Nottingham have found that common medications used to treat gout may significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death, according to a report by ScienceDaily.
The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggests that hitting specific blood urate targets does more than just prevent painful joint inflammation. It provides a protective effect against major cardiovascular events.
Gout occurs when high levels of urate in the blood form sharp crystals in the joints, causing intense pain and swelling. The condition affects roughly one in 40 adults across the UK and EU.
Targeting urate levels
By analyzing data from nearly 110,000 patients, the research team tracked individuals who used urate-lowering therapies, primarily allopurinol. The researchers compared patients who reached a target blood urate level of below 360 micromol/L within 12 months against those who did not.
Those who reached the target experienced higher survival rates and fewer major cardiovascular events over a five-year period. The protective benefits were even more pronounced in patients already categorized as having high or very high cardiovascular risk.
Professor Abhishek, from the University of Nottingham's School of Medicine, noted that the dosage is a critical factor in achieving these results.
"People with gout are at an increased risk of illnesses such as heart disease and stroke. This is the first study to find that medicines such as allopurinol that are used to treat gout reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke if they are taken at the right dose," Abhishek said.
He added that the correct dose is the one that successfully brings blood urate levels below 360 micromol/L. The study also found that patients achieving even lower levels, below 300 micromol/L, saw even greater reductions in risk.
The research team utilized an emulated target trial approach, leveraging healthcare records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum. This allowed them to assess long-term outcomes by linking primary care records to hospital and mortality data from 2007 to 2021.
