Clinical characteristics of elderly-onset gouty arthritis and risk factors for tophi / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of elderly-onset gouty arthritis and risk factors of tophi.Methods:A total of 1 239 gout patients were retrospective selected in the outpatient department of the Gout Clinical Medical Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from 2016 to 2022. According to age of onset, they were divided into the young and middle-aged group(aged<60) consisted of 826 cases, and the elderly group(aged≥60) consisted of 413 cases. Compare the clinical characteristics of elderly with Young and Middle-aged patients.Results:The systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, creatinine, regular exercise, comorbidities, and tophi in the elderly group was higher than that in the middle-aged and young group. The proportion of diastolic blood pressure, serum triglycerides, eGFR, serum uric acid, alcohol consumption rate, and family history of gout was lower than that of young and middle-aged group( P<0.05); In the elderly-onset group, the initial site of arthritis was commonly observed in the first metatarsophalangeal joint. The proportion of the first attack with the upper limb joint was higher in old age group than in young and middle age group( P<0.05). Renal underexcretion type was the main subtype in the elderly group, and the proportion of overproduction type was higher than that of the young and middle-aged group( P<0.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that age, urea nitrogen, disease duration≥10 years and family history of gout were risk factors for tophi in elderly patients( P<0.05). Conclusion:The elderly-onset gout has unique clinical characteristics, characterized by a higher prevalence of tophi, a higher rate of complications. An initial site of arthritis commonly observed in the first metatarsophalangeal joint and the predominant type of uric acid excretion is renal excretion impairment. Early diagnosis and treatment, control of blood uric acid levels, smoking cessation and alcohol, regular exercise should be applied to prevent or delay the formation of tophi.