Clinical features of familial gout and effects of probable genetic association between gout and its related disorders

We examined whether the age at onset, gender, arthritic manifestations, and tophus formation in familial gout are different from those in nonfamilial gout, and we also examined the contributory effect of genetic association to the concurrence of hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, obesity, and renal insufficiency with gout in Taiwan. A total of 21,373 gout patients' data from Ho-Ping Gout database were analyzed in this study retrospectively. The clinical and laboratory data were compared between familial and nonfamilial gout. Mean age at onset of gout in familial subjects was significantly 7.5 years lower than that of nonfamilial subjects (40.9 +/- 13.4 v 48.4 +/- 14.2 years, P = .0001), while gender, arthritic severity, and tophus formation were not significantly different between these 2 groups. Familial gout had lower serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and percentage of hypertension than nonfamilial gout (182.4 +/- 125.3 v 195.9 +/- 135.8 mg/dL, P = .0001; 207.5 +/- 42.5 v 210.4 +/- 48.8 mg/dL, P = .0003; and 19.57% v 22.56%, P < .0001, respectively). Their serum creatinine, body mass index (BMI), and percentage of type 2 DM were not significantly different. Our results demonstrate that familial gout is associated with precocious onset. Furthermore, the contributory effect of genetic association to the concurrence of hyperlipidemia and hypertension with gout is less than that of environmental factors, while the effect of genetic association to the concurrence of obesity, type 2 DM, and renal insufficiency with gout is equivalent to that of environmental factors. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.