Soft Drinks (Soda) Linked To Increased Risk Of Gout In Men

A study published in the British Medical Journal by researchers in the US and Canada to examine the relation between intake of sugar sweetened soft drinks and fructose and the risk of gout, has advised that consuming of sugar sweetened soft drinks and fructose is strongly associated with an increased risk of gout in men.

The researchers followed over 46,000 men aged 40 years and over with no history of gout. The men completed regular questionnaires on their intake of more than 130 foods and beverages, including sugar sweetened soft drinks and diet soft drinks, over a period of 12 years. Different types of fruits and fruit juices (high in natural fructose) were also assessed.

At the onset of the study and each two years, the men's statistics, including weight, regular use of medications and medical conditions were recorded. Gout was diagnosed according to American College of Rheumatology criteria. In the 12 years during follow-up, 755 new cases of gout were diagnosed.

The researchers discovered that the risk of developing gout increased with increasing intake of sugar sweetened soft drinks and the risk of gout significantly increased in those men who had the highest consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks per day compared to those who consumed less than one serving per month.

The risk of developing gout, the researchers discovered, was independent of other risk factors for gout such as body mass index, age, diuretic use, high blood pressure, alcohol intake, and dietary factors.

Diet soft drinks were not associated with the risk of gout.

Gout is a health condition of the joints which causes extreme pain and swelling and is most common in men older than 40. Gout is caused when there is an excess of uric acid in the blood (hyperuricaemia) and this eventually leads the blood to depositing the uric acid crystals around the joints, which is how they become swollen and painful.

It is believed that in the USA in particular, new cases of gout have doubled over the last few decades and this coincides with the increased consumption of fructose-sweetened soft drinks and other processed foods. Incidentally, fructose is the only carbohydrate known to increase uric acid levels.

People diagnosed with gout are advised to change their diet to restrict meat and meat products (especially liver and kidney) and alcohol, but have not been advised to cut out soft drinks.

The authors found that high intakes of fruit juices and fructose-rich fruits such as apples and oranges on a daily basis had a higher risk of developing gout - these findings need to be balanced against the need to eat vegetables and fruit.


References
T Nakagawa, KR Tuttle, RA Short and RJ Johnson. Hypothesis: fructose-induced hyperuricemia as a causal mechanism for the epidemic of the metabolic syndrome. Accessed 2 February 2008