Patients who are younger, less educated, with a lower Charlson Comorbidity Index score less likely to report flares
TUESDAY, Jan. 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Gout flares are commonly underreported among U.S. adults with gout, according to a study published in the January issue of ACR Open Rheumatology.
Jasvinder A. Singh, M.D., M.P.H., from the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, and colleagues assessed the burden of gout flares and examined associated patient characteristics and outcomes among 933 U.S. adults.
The researchers found that the total gout flare burden for those with gout was 6.6 gout flares per year. Nearly three-fourths of gout flares (72 percent) were either not reported to physicians or pretreated or prevented. Those who were less likely to report gout flares included those who were younger, were less educated, had a lower Charlson Comorbidity Index score, were not diagnosed with gout by their doctor, and were not taking a urate-lowering therapy.
“In this study, we obtained an estimate of gout flares and associated patient disease burden. We found that most gout flares were underreported, that is, only one-third of all gout flares are reported to the physicians,” the authors write. “Several study findings merit further discussion because they provide new insights into the impact of gout on people”s lives.”
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