Background: There is an increasing prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout worldwide. A substantial body of epidemiological and experimental evidence suggests that serum uric acid is an important, independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) especially in patients with hypertension (HTN), heart failure or type II diabetes melitus (DM).
Materials and Methods: 200 patients with diagnosis of gout, with at least 3 years of follow up were reviewed. They were divided into 2 groups; 60 patients with mean serum uric acid level (sUA) < 6 mg/dL and 140 patients with mean sUA ≥ 6 mg/dL.
Results: The long term ULT maintaining the serum urate level under 6 mg/dL leads to significant decrease in the incidence of gout related comorbidities.
Conclusion: There exists an association between gout and subsequent CVD and HTN. Retaining control of uric acid decreases the incidence of acute gouty attacks and related co-morbidities.