Reasons for hospitalizations for non-gout reasons and mortality in people with gout are changing

What is it about?

In a national U.S. study, we found 501,847 non-gout hospitalizations in 1998-99 and 1,665,355 in 2013-14 in people with gout. Infection categories increased from three in the top 25 CCS categories in 1998-99 (rank # 11, 15 and 20) to five in 2013-14 (rank #10, 11, 12, 18 and 21), and included pneumonia, respiratory infections, infections/parasitic diseases and sepsis; more pronounced than the time-trends in the general U.S. population. Circulatory system disease was rank #1 CCS category in both in 1998-99 and 2013-14. Two infection categories were in the top ten in 1998-99 (respiratory infection, rank #7; pneumonia, rank #8) versus four infection categories in the top five CCS categories in 2013-14 (rank #2, #3, #4 and #5). This national U.S. study described the epidemiology of non-gout hospitalizations and mortality. Non-gout hospitalizations in people with gout increased over 2-decades. Cardiovascular diseases were the main reasons for non-gout hospitalizations in people with gout in both periods; more importantly, their relative contribution decreased over 2-decades, while relative contributions of infectious and musculoskeletal diseases (including osteoarthritis) increased. In-hospital mortality in patients with gout showed a replacement of cardiac/respiratory causes in ranks #2-5 in 1998-99 by infectious disease/sepsis in 2013-14.

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Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Cardiac/renal disease, commonly associated with gout, and infections are the leading causes of non-gout hospitalizations in people with gout. Limited data are available for time-trends for hospitalizations in gout.

Perspectives