Correlation between Gout and Coronary Heart Disease in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in adult males. Patients with gout are at a higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). This study aimed to investigate the correlation between gout and CHD. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study that used data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database of Taiwan. The study subjects were 46,140 patients with new-onset gout during 2003-2010. To avoid selection bias, we used propensity score matching. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze differences in the risk of CHD between patients with and without gout after controlling for related variables. Results: The patients with gout had a higher risk of CHD than the patients without gout [adjusted hazards ratio (HR) = 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23-1.45]. The risk of CHD increased with older age. Other related factors for CHD included gender (female vs. male, adjusted HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.79-0.93), hypertension (adjusted HR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.42-1.65), hyperlipidemia (adjusted HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.07-1.29), and diabetes mellitus (adjusted HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.13-1.36). Conclusions: We found correlations between gout and CHD and other influencing factors including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. We also found that gender and age were associated with CHD.