By: John Cielo
Submitted: 2010-07-31 04:48:07 | Word Count: 647
Knowing your risk of getting gout can help you defeat it. Here, you'll discover key gout risk factors so you can see if you're at risk and what you need to do to eliminate gout.
First, to really understand gout risk factors you need to understand the cause(s) of gout...
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Gout is caused by high uric acid in the body -- a condition known as hyperuricemia -- which leads to gout crystals forming in your joints, that cause the symptoms of gout.
And uric acid is produced when natural compounds called 'purines' that exist in our bodies and food breakdown during the natural metabolizing process.
So basically, more purines leads to more uric acid, which leads to higher uric acid levels in the body, which then leads to urate crystals in your joints and the agonies of gout.
The key gout risk factors can indicate who is more at risk of gout attacks...
OVERWEIGHT
An overweight person has a higher risk simply because there is more body mass that can be broken down during metabolization, so increasing uric acid production, i.e. the more tissue that is naturally broken down, the more uric acid is produced. This can lead to hyperuricemia and so gout. If you are thirty pounds or more above your ideal weight, then you could be at risk.
DIET
Purines exist in our foods at varying levels ranging from relatively low through to very high. So the more high-purine content food you consume the more uric acid will be produced. The western diet can be particularly rich in high-purine foods, e.g. red meat, organ meat, seafood, etc.
ALCOHOL
Alcohol, particularly beer, is known to inhibit the proper excretion of uric acid out of your body. This leads to excess uric acid retention and hyperuricemia. If you are a man and drink on average 2 or more drinks a day, or, if you're a women who drinks 1 or more per day, you could be at risk.
MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Several medical conditions can put you at a higher risk of getting gout. Some of these are; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, narrowing of the arteries, diabetes, and chemotherapy.
MEDICATIONS
These include diuretics, cyclosporine (immuno-suppressant), levodopa (for Parkinson's disease), medications that use salicylic acid (e.g. aspirin), medications for high blood pressure, niacin (vitamin), etc.
FAMILY HISTORY
It is believed that around 25% of gout sufferers have a family history of the condition. And since gout is one of the many forms of arthritis, this condition in the family should also be taken into account. So that if there is a history of gout or arthritis in your family you are at a higher risk of gout than somebody who hasn't that history.
MALE v FEMALE
Since men on average have naturally higher uric acid in their bodies than women, they suffer gout more. But, after the menopause, women can suffer just as much as men, because at that time their uric acid levels rise.
AGE
Men between 30 and 50 suffer more gout than at any other age. Women over 50 get gout more. So that a man between 30 and 50, and, a women over 50, are most at risk of gout. There is very little gout in children and young adults.
You now have some idea of your risk factor for gout. Now, all you have to do is to work out how to use this information to help eliminate gout and prevent it returning time and again which can lead to things like permanent joint damage.
