Hospitalisations for gout - "the rich man's affliction" - have
soared by 80 per cent in the past decade, new research reveals. Experts blame
the massive rise on eating and drinking to excess, plus heredity.
University of Otago scientists conducted the first countrywide
decade-long study into the painful illness. Their findings show a 5.5 per cent
increase a year from 1999 to 2009. During that period 10,241 people presented
with the disease. Alarmingly, there was a further 34,318 admissions for serious
conditions complicated by gout, including high blood pressure, heart disease,
kidney problems and diabetes. "A lot of people don't realise how serious
gout can be," said Dunedin-based geneticist Tony Merriman, co-author of
the study. "It is now emerging that complications connected with gout are
worse than first thought."
A type of arthritis, gout is the development of crystals of uric acid in
and around joints, commonly the big toe, causing agonising pain. The New
Zealand figures are particularly high because Maori and Pacific Island
communities are more susceptible to it.
But it is now developing into "a serious health problem" among
the wider population, Merriman explained. "Too much beer or sugary drinks
are particularly bad for bringing on attacks." Actor George Henare, 64,
has suffered from gout for about 20 years. He said it was first triggered by
over-indulging and he now monitored what he ate and drank.
NZ Herald
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