Racial and Sex Disparities in Gout Prevalence Among US Adults

Importance

Emerging data suggest gout and hyperuricemia may now be more frequent among Black adults in the US than White adults, especially Black women. However, national-level, sex-specific general population data on racial differences in gout prevalence and potential socioclinical risk factors are lacking.

Objective

To identify sex-specific factors driving disparities between Black and White adults in contemporary gout prevalence in the US general population.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional analysis used nationally representative, decadal survey data from successive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2016. Data were analyzed from November 1, 2019, through May 31, 2021. Participants included US adults self-reporting Black or White race.

Exposures

Self-reported race, excess body mass index, chronic kidney disease (CKD; defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m², according to latest equations without race coefficient), poverty, poor-quality diet, low educational level, alcohol consumption, and diuretic use.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Race- and sex-specific prevalence of physician- or clinician-diagnosed gout and hyperuricemia and their differences before and after adjusting for potential socioclinical risk factors.

Results

A total of 18 693 participants were included in the analysis, consisting of 3304 Black women (mean [SD] age, 44.8 [0.4] years), 6195 White women (mean [SD] age, 49.8 [0.3] years), 3085 Black men (mean [SD] age, 43.6 [0.5] years]), and 6109 White men (mean [SD] age, 48.2 [0.3] years). Age-standardized prevalence of gout was 3.5% (95% CI, 2.7%-4.3%) in Black women and 2.0% (95% CI, 1.5%-2.5%) in White women (age-adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.81 [95% CI, 1.29-2.53]); prevalence was 7.0% (95% CI, 6.2%-7.9%) in Black men and 5.4% (95% CI, 4.7%-6.2%) in White men (age-adjusted OR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.02-1.55]). These associations attenuated after adjusting for poverty, diet, body mass index, and CKD among women and for diet and CKD among men but became null after adjusting for all risk factors (ORs, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.67-1.65] among women and 1.05 [95% CI, 0.80-1.35] among men). Hyperuricemia end point findings were similar.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this nationally representative race- and sex-specific cross-sectional study of US adults, gout was more prevalent in adults self-reporting Black race during a recent 10-year period compared with their White counterparts. These racial differences may be explained by sex-specific differences in diet and social determinants of health and clinical factors. Culturally informed efforts focusing on these factors could reduce current gout-related disparities.