Gender-specific risk factors for gout: a systematic review of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: Though gout is more prevalent in men than women, it remains unclear whether gender influences risk factors for incident gout. We aimed to systematically review all cohort studies examining risk factors for the development of gout by gender. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to March 2019. Risk factors for gout examined were: age, ethnicity, consumption of alcohol, meat, seafood, dairy products, purine-rich vegetables, coffee and fructose, vitamin C intake, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, metabolic syndrome, BMI, waist and chest circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, weight change, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemias, renal disease, psoriasis, hypertension, diuretic use and anti-diabetic medication. Cohort studies were included if examining (at least) one of these risk factors for gout in either gender in the general population or primary care. Sample characteristics from included articles and their reported risk estimates were described using narrative synthesis. RESULTS: Thirty-three articles were included, 20 (60.6%)directly compared risk factors by gender, 10 (30.3%) used men-only samples, 3 (9.1%) used women-only samples. Articles comparing risk across genders found similar increases in most risk factors. However, in men, metabolic syndrome (Hazard Ratio (95% CI) 1.37(1.20-1.58)) presented a risk of incident gout compared to none in women (> 50 years 1.15(0.85-1.54); ≤50 years 1.29(0.76-2.17)). Compared to men, women showed greater associated risk with higher consumption of fish and shellfish (HR (95% CI) Men: 1.02 (0.86-1.22); Women 1.36 (1.12-1.65)). CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for developing gout did not typically differ between genders and therefore similar preventative advice can be provided. Exceptions were metabolic syndrome in men and excessive seafood consumption in women, but these singular articles need further examination and in general more research into the risk factors for gout which includes women is required.

Gender-specific risk factors for gout: a systematic review of cohort studies

Abstract Background: Though gout is more prevalent in men than women, it remains unclear whether gender influences risk factors for incident gout. We aimed to systematically review all cohort studies examining risk factors for the development of gout by gender. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to March 2019. Risk factors for gout examined were: age, ethnicity, consumption of alcohol, meat, seafood, dairy products, purine-rich vegetables, coffee and fructose, vitamin C intake, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, metabolic syndrome, BMI, waist and chest circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, weight change, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemias, renal disease, psoriasis, hypertension, diuretic use and anti-diabetic medication. Cohort studies were included if examining (at least) one of these risk factors for gout in either gender in the general population or primary care. Sample characteristics from included articles and their reported risk estimates were described using narrative synthesis. Results: Thirty-three articles were included, 20 (60.6%)directly compared risk factors by gender, 10 (30.3%) used men-only samples, 3 (9.1%) used women-only samples. Articles comparing risk across genders found similar increases in most risk factors. However, in men, metabolic syndrome (Hazard Ratio (95% CI) 1.37(1.20-1.58)) presented a risk of incident gout compared to none in women (> 50 years 1.15(0.85-1.54); ≤50 years 1.29(0.76-2.17)). Compared to men, women showed greater associated risk with higher consumption of fish and shellfish (HR (95% CI) Men: 1.02 (0.86-1.22); Women 1.36 (1.12-1.65)). Conclusions: Risk factors for developing gout did not typically differ between genders and therefore similar preventative advice can be provided. Exceptions were metabolic syndrome in men and excessive seafood consumption in women, but these singular articles need further examination and in general more research into the risk factors for gout which includes women is required.

Additively manufactured versus conventionally pressed cranioplasty implants: An accuracy comparison.

This article compared the accuracy of producing patient-specific cranioplasty implants using four different approaches. Benchmark geometry was designed to represent a cranium and a defect added simulating a craniectomy. An 'ideal' contour reconstruction was calculated and compared against reconstructions resulting from the four approaches -'conventional', 'semi-digital', 'digital - non-automated' and 'digital - semi-automated'. The 'conventional' approach relied on hand carving a reconstruction, turning this into a press tool, and pressing titanium sheet. This approach is common in the UK National Health Service. The 'semi-digital' approach removed the hand-carving element. Both of the 'digital' approaches utilised additive manufacturing to produce the end-use implant. The geometries were designed using a non-specialised computer-aided design software and a semi-automated cranioplasty implant-specific computer-aided design software. It was found that all plates were clinically acceptable and that the digitally designed and additive manufacturing plates were as accurate as the conventional implants. There were no significant differences between the additive manufacturing plates designed using non-specialised computer-aided design software and those designed using the semi-automated tool. The semi-automated software and additive manufacturing production process were capable of producing cranioplasty implants of similar accuracy to multi-purpose software and additive manufacturing, and both were more accurate than handmade implants. The difference was not of clinical significance, demonstrating that the accuracy of additive manufacturing cranioplasty implants meets current best practice.

Obesity, hypertension and diuretic use as risk factors for incident gout: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: Gout treatment remains suboptimal. Identifying populations at risk of developing gout may provide opportunities for prevention. Our aim was to assess the risk of incident gout associated with obesity, hypertension and diuretic use. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective and retrospective cohort studies in adults (age ≥ 18 years) from primary care or the general population, exposed to obesity, hypertension or diuretic use and with incident gout as their outcome. RESULTS: A total of 9923 articles were identified: 14 met the inclusion criteria, 11 of which contained data suitable for pooling in the meta-analysis. Four articles were identified for obesity, 10 for hypertension and six for diuretic use, with four, nine and three articles included respectively for each meta-analysis. Gout was 2.24 times more likely to occur in individuals with body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2 (adjusted relative risk 2.24 (95% confidence interval) 1.76-2.86). Hypertensive individuals were 1.64 (1.34-2.01) and 2.11 (1.64-2.72) times more likely to develop gout as normotensive individuals (adjusted hazard ratio and relative risk respectively). Diuretic use was associated with almost 2.5 times the risk of developing gout compared to no diuretic use (adjusted relative risk 2.39 (1.57-3.65)). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity, hypertension and diuretic use are risk factors for incident gout, each more than doubling the risk compared to those without these risk factors. Patients with these risk factors should be recognised by clinicians as being at greater risk of developing gout and provided with appropriate management and treatment options.