Dietary and lifestyle changes associated with high prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout in the Shandong coastal cities of Eastern China

Objective. To demonstrate the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout associated with dietary and lifestyle changes and evaluate the implication of metabolic disorders to the development of hyperuricemia. Methods. Data collected from 5,003 subjects randomly recruited from 5 coastal cities (Qingdao, Rizhao, Yantai, Weihai, and Dongying) of Shandong province in Eastern China were analyzed. Results. Overall, the prevalence for hyperuricemia and gout in the studied populations was 13.19% and 1.14%, respectively. The prevalence was significantly higher in men as compared to women (18.32% vs 8.56% for hyperuricemia, 1.94% vs 0.42% for gout). Hyperuricemia was more common in men over age 30 and in women over age 50. A significant steady increase for the prevalence was noted as compared to the previous published data. Urban residents showed much higher prevalence of hyperuricemia as compared to rural residents (14.9% vs 10.1%, p = 0.004). Similarly, higher prevalence was noted in the developed city compared to the less developed city (18.02 vs 5.3%). These discrepancies were highly correlated with economic development as manifested by the increase of daily consumption of meat and seafood. Additionally, alcohol, overweight or obesity, hypertension, and abnormal triglycerides were highly associated with higher prevalence of hyperuricemia. Moreover, hyperuricemia is likely a risk factor for the development of diabetes mellitus. Conclusion. There was a remarkable increase for the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout, which is highly correlated with the development of the economy as manifested by dietary and lifestyle changes. The Journal of Rheumatology