WebMD Health News Brunilda Nazario, MD Nov. 11, 2011 (Chicago)
-- People with gout should make sure their uric acid levels are
under control -- even if they're not experiencing symptoms of
the painful arthritic disorder. "Many people are walking around
with uncontrolled uric acid levels and we used to not worry
about it -- if they're not having symptoms, who cares?" says
Eric Matteson, MD, MPH, head of rheumatology at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minn. But new studies show that high uric acid levels
in the blood are associated with a nearly 20% increased risk of
developing diabetes and a more than 40% increased risk of
developing kidney disease. Uric acid is a chemical substance
that can build up in the blood to a higher than normal level and
lead to gout. For the new studies, researchers reviewed the
records of about 2,000 men with gout in a Veterans
Administration database. None had diabetes or kidney disease at
the start of the study. Eswar Krishnan, MD, assistant professor
of rheumatology at Stanford Univers