Gout - What Causes It?

Gout affects many Americans. University of Maryland Medical Center reveals that nearly 2.1 million people are affected by gout. Gout is one of the many forms of arthritis. But what is gout?

Gout is a medical term used to describe a condition where the person experiences severe pain in his joints. The pain is caused due to the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid in soft tissues and/or the joints.

Uric acid is a waste product that is generally eliminated by the body through the excretory system. However, when there is an over-concentration of the uric acid in the body or when the excretory system stops functioning properly, it starts getting deposited in the soft tissues or the joints. These needle-shaped crystals trigger an onset of inflammation and severe pain in the joints.

CAUSES OF GOUT:

A common belief is that gout is caused due to leading a lifestyle usually associated with the affluent class i.e. overeating, etc.. Hence, gout earned the moniker ‘ rich man’s disease’.

However, modern scientists present a more complex explanation as to what are the real causes of gout. Many medical practitioners state that gout is caused due to:

• Genetic factors: The genetic make-up of a person can trigger off a particular disease or medical condition. Gout is no exception. A person may fall victim to gout if it runs in the family history. In fact, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases states that 20% of the people who suffer from gout have a long running family history of the disease.
• Gender: Research has proven that 90% of gout sufferers are men. In case of women, most of the gout cases reported tend to occur in women who are past their menopausal stage.
• Age: Medical studies have proven that the chances of being afflicted with gout increases dramatically, as you get older. Most of the people who suffer from gout are aged between 40-60 years. Thus, this form of arthritis is more common in adults than in children.
• Obesity: Overweight people have an increased chance of getting gout. This is because an overweight person has more tissues in his body than a person with a normal weight. More tissues automatically translate into more breakdown or turnover, which leads to an increase in the production of uric acid. Increase in the uric acid increases the chances of getting gout. Hence, most medical practitioners advise their patients to reduce weight.
• Excessive intake of alcohol: Alcohol has been blamed for many ills. Alcohol is also one of the many factors that can cause gout. Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to hyperuricemia [medical term used to describe a condition wherein an excessive level of uric acid is detected in the blood], as alcohol tends to obstruct the effective elimination of uric acid from the body.
• Purine rich food: Purine is a chemical substance present in many food items. Many doctors state that a diet comprised primarily of purine rich food can easily lead to gout or aggravate gout in many cases This is because the break up of purine leads to the production of uric acid in the human body. Purine rich food include vegetables like mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, cauliflower as well as legumes like dried beans, peas etc. Similarly, meat products like shellfish, anchovies, sardines in oil, fish roes, herring are considered to be rich in purines.

A balanced diet coupled with a few precautionary measures like reduction in the intake of purine rich food and alcohol can go a long way in the prevention of gout.

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