Frequency of gouty arthritis in patients with end-stage renal disease in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate gouty arthritis in Japanese patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).


METHODS
Questionnaires plus patient interviews and reviews of medical records were used to investigate gouty arthritis in 493 Japanese patients with ESRD receiving maintenance dialysis.


RESULTS
The frequency of gouty arthritis was 4.1% for female patients and 15.4% for male patients greater than 2 years before the start of dialysis, and 0.6% for female patients and 7.7% for male patients less than 2 years before the start of dialysis. After the start of dialysis the frequency was 3.4% for the first 2 years and 1.2% thereafter in male patients, but no gouty arthritis appeared in female patients. Although the annual number of gouty attacks was 2.0+/-4.2 greater than 2 years before the start of dialysis, and 1.9+/-6.6 less than 2 years before the start of dialysis, the annual number of attacks decreased significantly after the start of dialysis to 0.2+/-0.7 in the first 2 years and 0.1+/-0.6 thereafter.


CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of gouty arthritis in Japanese patients with ESRD is similar to that of patients with hyperuricemia in the general population and it is decreased slightly before dialysis; however, the frequency decreases markedly after dialysis.
Ohno
Iwao
I
Division of Kidney and Hypertension, Department of Internal Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo.
Ichida
Kimiyoshi
K
Okabe
Hideaki
H
Hikita
Miho
M
Uetake
Daijiro
D
Kimura
Hiroaki
H
Saikawa
Hajime
H
Hosoya
Tatsuo
T
D000368:Aged; D015210:Arthritis, Gouty / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis