THURSDAY, April 15, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Gout sufferers toasting their health may want to raise a glass of burgundy, not brew: A new study finds beer increases gout risk, while wine does not.
"Individuals with gout or who are at a higher risk of gout should try to limit or even cut out their beer consumption," said the study's lead author, Dr. Hyon Choi, a rheumatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
However, "wine may be allowed, and may even have other health benefits associated with moderate alcohol consumption," he added.
The study appears in the April 17th issue of The Lancet.
Experts estimate that more than 5 million Americans suffer from gout, a painful condition caused by the buildup of uric acid in the joints. The condition predominately affects men, and is treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.
For centuries, the disease has been linked in the popular imagination with excessive indulgence in food and drink.
"Gout is the oldest form of arthritis that we know of," said Dr. Calvin Brown Jr., a rheumatologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. "They called it 'the disease of kings,' because in early times, kings were able to eat rich diets. Many kings and royal families were highly afflicted by gout."
Doctors typically tell patients with gout to shy away from alcohol. But until now, no study had examined whether specific drinks might raise or lower the risk.
In their study, Choi and his team compared rates of gout onset in a group of 47,000 adult men who were tracked for 12 years. During the study, the participants were regularly questioned about their daily consumption of various foods and drinks.
According to Choi, "beer consumption showed the strongest independent association with gout." Men drinking about one glass of beer per day saw their risk of developing gout rise by about 30 percent compared with nondrinkers, while those drinking between two and four glasses per day faced almost double the risk.
Consumption of spirits also raised gout risk. Men who drank one shot of liquor per day saw their odds rise by about 30 percent, compared to teetotalers.
However, the researchers were surprised to discover that moderate wine consumption had no effect on the likelihood that a drinker would develop gout.
"There may be some protective factors in wine, neutralizing the alcohol effect," Choi said. Although it remains "just a theory," he speculated that powerful antioxidants found in wine may undercut the negative effects of alcohol when it comes to gout.
Beer's less favorable influence on gout risk is better understood. "Beer is the only alcoholic beverage to have a large purine content," Choi explained. Purine, a compound found naturally in red meats, beans and other foods, breaks down within the body to form the uric acid that causes gout.
The high level of purine in beer appears to "augment the effect of alcohol, producing greater risks for gout than either spirits or wine," Choi said.
The new findings may have a real impact on gout prevention, experts added.
"Before, what we thought was 'alcohol is alcohol is alcohol,'" Brown said. "But now, if a [gout] patient asks me if one form of alcohol is better, I'd say choose one or two glasses of wine per day."
More information
Go to the American College of Rheumatology or the Arthritis Foundation to get the lowdown on gout.
