Gout: Sleep apnea may raise your risk

Gout is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis and affects more than 8 million adults. Men are at a higher risk than women. And according to a new study, your risk for gout also climbs if you suffer from sleep apnea, a condition where your breathing repeatedly pauses while you sleep. What exactly is gout? Gout is triggered by the crystallization of uric acid within the joints. It happens like this: Your body produces uric acid from breaking down purines, a natural waste product of living cells. Normally, uric acid is dissolved in your blood and passes through your kidneys into your urine. However, sometimes your body produces too much uric acid or excretes too little of it. This causes uric acid to build up and form needle-like urate crystals in a joint or the surrounding tissue. The result: sudden flare-ups that cause intense pain, inflammation, swelling, and redness. While the large joint of your big toe is the most commonly affected area, gout can occur in any joint, including your ankles, knees, hands, and wrists. Episodes can last a few days to several weeks. The link between sleep apnea and gout For the study, published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, researchers combed through records in a British health database to compare people with and without sleep apnea. They selected a total of 9,865 people with sleep apnea (average age 54) and matched them to a “control” group of 43,958 people without the disorder. After one year, people with sleep apnea we...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Arthritis Health Sleep gout sleep apnea Source Type: news