title: Subclinical atherosclerosis in gouty arthritis patients: a comparative study.
abstract: We evaluated the incidence of subclinical atherosclerosis and associated factors in our gouty arthritis patients. We included 55 gouty arthritis patients diagnosed at our center within the last 4 years. The control group included 41 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 34 patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (AHU). Atherosclerotic risk factors were determined in all subjects. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of plaques were evaluated by B-mode ultrasonography. The carotid IMT in gouty arthritis patients (0.730 ± 0.19) was significantly higher than in AHU subjects (0.616 ± 0.12) (P = 0.004) and tended to be higher than the RA group (0.669 ± 0.17) (P = 0.1). Atheromatous plaques were significantly more frequent in gouty arthritis patients (16 cases, 29.1%) than in RA patients (5 cases, 12.2%) and AHU subjects (3 cases, 8.8%) (P values, 0.05 and 0.023). Gout patients with plaques were older (P = 0.006) and tended to have tophi more frequently (P = 0.06). Logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.02-1.54) and the presence of tophi (OR: 12.5, 95% CI: 1.2-140) were independent risk factors for the presence of plaques. Gouty arthritis bears a higher risk of atherosclerosis than both RA and AHU.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Trakya University Medical Faculty, Edirne, Turkey.
authors: Selçuk
authors: S
authors: Çukurova
authors: Ömer Nuri
authors: ÖN
authors: Pamuk
authors: Ercüment
authors: E
authors: Ünlü
authors: Gülsüm Emel
authors: GE
authors: Pamuk
authors: Necati
authors: N
authors: Çakir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015210:Arthritis, Gouty / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033461:Hyperuricemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology