People with gout have lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Conclusion This population-based study has found that people with gout had a 24% reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. It was a well-designed study, in that there were large numbers of people in each group and multiple potential confounding factors were taken into account. The validation of the study was also valuable in showing the expected lack of a link between osteoarthritis and Alzheimer’s disease. However, there are some limitations with this type of study, with a major one being that it cannot prove cause and effect. While some potential confounding factors were accounted for in the statistical analysis, there could be others which influenced the results. The study participants were followed for an average of five years, so there will be a number of cases of early Alzheimer’s disease that would not have been picked up or fully diagnosed. Gout was used as a proxy for increased levels of uric acid. However, gout is an inflammatory type of arthritis and some people only have one attack, or attacks that are spread out over a number of years. Therefore, it is not clear that a high level of uric acid caused the results seen. It is not advisable that you try to increase your levels of uric acid through your diet, as this could increase your risk of developing gout, which is a very painful condition. The best way to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia are all the usual suspects: stop smoking, drink alcohol within recommended limits, be...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Neurology Older people Source Type: news