In real life, in a substantial proportion of gouty patients receiving urate-lowering therapy (ULT), urate levels are not maintained below the target of 6.0 mg/dl. We aimed to search for factors associated with poor control of serum uric acid (UA) levels in a large population of patients with gout receiving ULT.
This cross-sectional study involved adults with gout in primary care who were receiving ULT. Demographics, gout history, comorbidities, lifestyle, clinical factors, concomitant treatments, and laboratory data were compared in well-controlled gout (serum UA ≤6.0 mg/dl) versus poorly controlled gout (serum UA >6.0 mg/dl) on univariate and multivariate analyses.
Among the 1,995 patients receiving ULT, only 445 (22.3%) had reached the target of 6.0 mg/dl serum UA. Such patients had a lower rate of gout flares within the previous year than patients without the target (mean ± SD 1.7 ± 1.4 versus 2.1 ± 1.4; P < 0.0001). The main factors associated with poor serum UA level control in multivariate analysis were low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.5 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.26-0.96]; P = 0.04), high total cholesterol level (OR 1.83 [95% CI 1.29-2.60]; P = 0.0007), increased waist circumference (OR 1.55 [95% CI 1.11-2.13]; P = 0.008), and alcohol consumption (OR 1.52 [95% CI 1.15-2.00]; P = 0.003).
Dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, and alcohol consumption are the main factors associated with a poor response to ULT. Knowledge of these factors might help physicians identify cases of gout that may be less likely to achieve target urate level.