And by the looks of it, more people are hurting - currently over 5,000,000 in the US with prevalence on the rise, as is prevalence of a similar condition called pseudogout. There are double the number of (known) cases today compared to just 20 years ago.To answer the question from my previous post, gout is now the most common inflammatory arthritis in men in the US. (Gout strikes men about three times more often than women.)
Background
Area Affected:
- Gout often affects peripheral joints - toes, ankles, fingers, wrists.
- Pseudogout often affects central joints - hips, shoulders.
- Gout is inflammation caused by monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) crystals.
- Pseudogout is inflammation caused by calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals.
On The Rise
Baby boomers are maturing. But that's not the only reason there are more cases. It's hitting the middle-aged and younger, mirroring the increasing prevalence and younger age-at-diagnosis of diabetes. In fact, having diabetes raises the risk of developing gout, as do high blood pressure and high levels of fat and cholesterol in the blood.
MedlinePlus, a service of the National Institutes of Health, provides excellent and current information related to gout on their site. It includes a basic description and symptoms, how gout is diagnosed and treated, photographs, clinical trials, and findings of recent research.
