Metabolic syndrome in gout compared to autoimmune rheumatic diseases

Claudiu Popescu ^(1,2,*), Mara Grigore^(1,2), Carmen Stentel⁽²⁾, Catalin Codreanu^(1,2)

1)„Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Farmacy, Bucharest, Romania
2)„Dr. Ion Stoia” Clinical Centre for Rheumatic Diseases, Bucharest, Romania

Objective: to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in gout and to compare it to the prevalence of MetS in osteoarthritis and in autoimmune rheumatic diseases with recognized risk for MetS.
Methods. The hospital’s electronic database was queried for all adult patients with in-hospital admissions since its operating start (January 1st 2009) until the arbitrary date of the study (June 26th 2024). Only the first admission to the hospital within the study timeframe was retained for each unique patient. Diagnoses were defined by ICD10 coding.
Results. Patients with gout (n=996), compared to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n=4864), ankylosing spondylitis (AS; n=1403), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; n=304) and osteoarthritis (n=17044) had a significantly higher prevalence of MetS (12.8% compared respectively to 4.2%, 3.8%, 2.9% and 8.0%, p < 0.001 for all) and all of its component diagnoses, with marginal significance when compared to PsA patients (n=278; 12.8% compared to 8.6%, p = 0.060). Within the gout group, women were significantly older than men and they had a significantly higher prevalence of MetS (15.8% versus 10.6%, p = 0.015; p < 0.001 after weighing the data by age) and its components, excepting dyslipidemia.
Conclusion. Gout had a significantly higher prevalence of MetS and all of its component diagnoses compared to autoimmune rheumatic diseases (RA, AS, SLE) and osteoarthritis. Women with gout exhibit a significantly higher prevalence of MetS and its components (excepting dyslipidemia). The combination of gout and MetS should attract aggressive strategies for cardiovascular risk lowering.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus

Corresponding author(s): Claudiu Popescu, „Dr. Ion Stoia” Clinical Centre for Rheumatic Diseases, Bucharest, 5th Thomas Masaryk Street, Romania, e-mail: claudiu.popescu@reumatologiedrstoia.ro