We investigated the association between gout and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods
Population-based representative insurance (outpatient and inpatient) claims data of 29,765 patients with gout and 59,530 controls without gout (1:2 case:control ratio) between 1998 and 2010 in Taiwan were identified. The association between gout and type 2 diabetes was evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards model. Moreover, the combined effects of sex and incident gout on the risk of type 2 diabetes were estimated.
Results
In total, 3940 patients (13.24%) with gout and 6334 controls (10.64%) developed type 2 diabetes in the follow-up period. Multivariate analyses revealed a significant association between gout and type 2 diabetes. Compared with the control group, the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for type 2 diabetes were 1.62 (1.54-1.70) in men, 1.97 (1.81-2.14) in women, and 1.70 (1.62-1.77) overall. The multiplicative interaction was β = 0.18 and P = .0001, suggesting a positive interaction between sex and incident gout. Moreover, compared with men without gout, a significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes was noted in women without gout (adjusted relative risk [95% confidence interval], 1.17 [1.10-1.24]), men with gout (1.11 [1.06-1.16]), and women with gout (1.47 [1.37-1.57]) (Pfor interaction = .0058).
Conclusions
Gout is a strong and independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes, and female patients with gout are at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than are male patients with gout.
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-Yi-Ching Tung, PhD, Su-Shin Lee, MD, Wen-Chan Tsai, MD, PhD, Gau-Tyan Lin, MD, Hsin-Wen Chang, PhD, Hung-Pin Tu, PhD
This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
