Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study
Objectives: To describe trends in the epidemiology of gout and patterns of urate-lowering treatment (ULT) in the UK general population from 1997 to 2012. Methods: We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to estimate the prevalence and incidence of gout for each calendar year from 1997 to 201...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2014
|
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35900/ |
| _version_ | 1848795186514100224 |
|---|---|
| author | Kuo, Chang-Fu Grainge, Matthew J. Mallen, Christian Zhang, Weiya Doherty, Michael |
| author_facet | Kuo, Chang-Fu Grainge, Matthew J. Mallen, Christian Zhang, Weiya Doherty, Michael |
| author_sort | Kuo, Chang-Fu |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objectives: To describe trends in the epidemiology of gout and patterns of urate-lowering treatment (ULT) in the UK general population from 1997 to 2012.
Methods: We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to estimate the prevalence and incidence of gout for each calendar year from 1997 to 2012. We also investigated the pattern of gout management for both prevalent and incident gout patients.
Results: In 2012, the prevalence of gout was 2.49% (95% CI 2.48% to 2.51%) and the incidence was 1.77 (95% CI 1.73 to 1.81) per 1000 person-years. Prevalence and incidence both were significantly higher in 2012 than in 1997, with a 63.9% increase in prevalence and 29.6% increase in incidence over this period. Regions with highest prevalence and incidence were the North East and Wales. Among prevalent gout patients in 2012, only 48.48% (95% CI 48.08% to 48.89%) were being consulted specifically for gout or treated with ULT and of these 37.63% (95% CI 37.28% to 38.99%) received ULT. In addition, only 18.6% (95% CI 17.6% to 19.6%) of incident gout patients received ULT within 6 months and 27.3% (95% CI 26.1% to 28.5%) within 12 months of diagnosis. The management of prevalent and incident gout patients remained essentially the same during the study period, although the percentage of adherent patients improved from 28.28% (95% CI 27.33% to 29.26%) in 1997 to 39.66% (95% CI 39.11% to 40.22%) in 2012.
Conclusion:s In recent years, both the prevalence and incidence of gout have increased significantly in the UK. Suboptimal use of ULT has not changed between 1997 and 2012. Patient adherence has improved during the study period, but it remains poor. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:28:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-35900 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:28:05Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-359002020-05-04T16:47:10Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35900/ Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study Kuo, Chang-Fu Grainge, Matthew J. Mallen, Christian Zhang, Weiya Doherty, Michael Objectives: To describe trends in the epidemiology of gout and patterns of urate-lowering treatment (ULT) in the UK general population from 1997 to 2012. Methods: We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to estimate the prevalence and incidence of gout for each calendar year from 1997 to 2012. We also investigated the pattern of gout management for both prevalent and incident gout patients. Results: In 2012, the prevalence of gout was 2.49% (95% CI 2.48% to 2.51%) and the incidence was 1.77 (95% CI 1.73 to 1.81) per 1000 person-years. Prevalence and incidence both were significantly higher in 2012 than in 1997, with a 63.9% increase in prevalence and 29.6% increase in incidence over this period. Regions with highest prevalence and incidence were the North East and Wales. Among prevalent gout patients in 2012, only 48.48% (95% CI 48.08% to 48.89%) were being consulted specifically for gout or treated with ULT and of these 37.63% (95% CI 37.28% to 38.99%) received ULT. In addition, only 18.6% (95% CI 17.6% to 19.6%) of incident gout patients received ULT within 6 months and 27.3% (95% CI 26.1% to 28.5%) within 12 months of diagnosis. The management of prevalent and incident gout patients remained essentially the same during the study period, although the percentage of adherent patients improved from 28.28% (95% CI 27.33% to 29.26%) in 1997 to 39.66% (95% CI 39.11% to 40.22%) in 2012. Conclusion:s In recent years, both the prevalence and incidence of gout have increased significantly in the UK. Suboptimal use of ULT has not changed between 1997 and 2012. Patient adherence has improved during the study period, but it remains poor. BMJ Publishing Group 2014-04-03 Article PeerReviewed Kuo, Chang-Fu, Grainge, Matthew J., Mallen, Christian, Zhang, Weiya and Doherty, Michael (2014) Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 74 (4). pp. 661-667. ISSN 1468-2060 http://ard.bmj.com/content/74/4/661.abstract doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204463 doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204463 |
| spellingShingle | Kuo, Chang-Fu Grainge, Matthew J. Mallen, Christian Zhang, Weiya Doherty, Michael Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study |
| title | Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study |
| title_full | Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study |
| title_fullStr | Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study |
| title_short | Rising burden of gout in the UK but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study |
| title_sort | rising burden of gout in the uk but continuing suboptimal management: a nationwide population study |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35900/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35900/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35900/ |