Association between gout and abdominal aortic aneurysm

Background: Previous studies have shown an association between hyperuricemia and microvascular diseases, but the association between uric acid and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between gout and AAA. Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted to validate the association between gout and AAA formation. The outcome in this study was the cumulative incidence of AAA in patients with or without gout during the 14-year follow-up period. Results: Our analysis included 121,236 patients with gout and 121,236 propensity score-matched controls from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. Compared to the controls, patients who had gout exhibited a significantly increased incidence of AAA development [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2.465, p < 0.001]. We also found that patients who were treated with anti-gout medications had a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with an AAA than patients who were not treated with anti-gout medications (adjusted HR = 0.489, p < 0.001). Conclusions: We have provided clinical evidence that gout is associated with the development of AAA.