New gout diagnosis raises cardiovascular risk in the short term

Individuals who have recently received a diagnosis of gout face an increased risk of cardiovascular events within 30 days of the index diagnosis, according to a study.

Researchers conducted a self-controlled case series analysis and a cohort study using data from linked primary care, hospitalization, and mortality records from the United Kingdom's Clinical Practice Research Database-GOLD.

A total of 76,440 patients (mean age 63.2 years, 72.9 percent male) with a new diagnosis of gout either in the primary care or secondary care were included in the analysis. The main outcome of cardiovascular events was defined as a composite of fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction, ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and transient ischaemic attack.

Of the patients, 4,398 (mean age 74.6 years, 66.9 percent male) had a cardiovascular event within at least 2 years of their first recorded diagnosis of gout. The incidence of cardiovascular events in this subgroup occurred with significantly higher frequency in the 30 days after the first diagnosis of gout vs baseline (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 1.55, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.33–1.83).

In the entire cohort, the incidence rate of cardiovascular events in the 30 days after the first gout diagnosis was significantly higher than in days 31–730 after gout diagnosis (31.2 vs 21.6 events per 1,000 person-years). The corresponding difference was −9.6 events per 1,000 person-years.

The findings highlight the need for cardiovascular risk management from the time of first gout consultation.