What Are The Common Causes of Gout

Wikipedia defines gout as “The recurring attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis.” It is generally caused due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joint, and may affect any joint including the knee, wrists as well as fingers. The most commonly found though is in the foot and affects the metatarsal joint at the base of the big toe. This accumulation of excess urate salts is technically called hyperuricemia.

This uric acid starts getting accumulated due to under excretion of urine for any reason. In 90% of the cases it is underexcretion of urinate salts in urine that causes gout while only in 10% of the cases gout is caused due to over production of urate salts. Even here there is no guarantee that a person with hyperuricemia is sure to develop gout as only 10% of those with this problem ultimately end up with gout. 

There are a number of other reasons too which may cause hypercricemia including diet and lifestyle. There has also been some link found between genetics and gout with researchers saying that some people are more predisposed to getting gout than other people. 

For example the Mayo clinic says that consuming more than two drinks per day for men and more than one for women increases the chances of developing gout. In the same way if there is a family history of gout there is a better than even chance that you will develop it yourself. Gout is also more common in men than in women, but while men tend to develop gout early in life, i.e. before their 40's women develop gout later, as in after menopause because it is only then that women's uric acid levels tend to increase. 

There are also certain medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, high fat and cholesterol levels in the blood and narrowing of the arteries that are all gout causes if left untreated for long. There are also medicines, mostly diuretics and repeated consumption of low dosage aspirin that can lead to gout. 

Lately the prevalence of gout has also been linked to the excess consumption of beverages sweetened with fructose. Research has also showed that regular exercise, and consumption of vitamin c and coffee also reduces the incidence of gout, although too much caffeine can have other side effects.

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