title: GOSPEL: prospective survey of gout in France. Part I: design and patient characteristics (n = 1003).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess diagnoses and management of acute and chronic gout in primary care and rheumatology settings relative to 2006 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) gout recommendations. Secondary objectives were to describe patient demographics, clinical features, lifestyle modifications, and short- and mid-term outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, cross-sectional, descriptive survey of patients with chronic gout, acute gout, or suspected gout, included by randomly selected general practitioners (GPs, n = 398) and rheumatologists (n = 109) between October 2008 and September 2009, in France. At the first visit, a structured questionnaire was completed. Each patient completed self-questionnaires at the first visit and 3 to 6 months later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included 1003 patients, including 879 (87.6%) males (mean age, 61.6 ± 11.4 years; 28.1% obese) and 124 (12.4%) females (70.2 ± 11.9 years; 33.1% obese). Mean disease duration was 8.0 ± 8.3 years and mean time since hyperuricemia diagnosis 8.2 ± 8.4 years. Mean annual number of flares was 1.9 ± 1.5. ACR criteria for gout were met in 855 pts. Gout was acute in 487 (48.6%) patients and chronic in 241 (24.4%). Tophi (19.4% of patients) were associated with disease duration but not gender or chronic kidney disease (CKD). The main co-morbidities were hypertension (53.8%), dyslipidemia (47.2%), and hyperglycemia/diabetes mellitus (15.0%). CKD 3-5 was present in 43% of patients but was identified by physicians in only 5.2%. CKD severity was significantly associated with age, gender, hypertension, and diuretic use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This cohort will prove valuable for addressing the concordance with EULAR recommendations and for future studies of gout in everyday practice, most notably regarding metabolic syndrome, other co-morbidities, and identification of difficult-to-treat patients.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, 75205 Paris, France. frederic.liote@lrb.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lioté
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lancrenon
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lanz
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guggenbuhl
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saraux
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chiarelli
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delva
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Aubert
authors.forename: Hang-Korng
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Ea
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D019468:Disease Management; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006073:Gout / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012107:Research Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires