A recent study from Massachusetts General Hospital suggests that following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet may reduce the risk of gout.

What is gout?

When excess uric acid in the bloodstream builds up too quickly or can’t be eliminated fast enough, it is deposited as needle-shaped crystals in the tissues of the body, including joints, causing intense pain. This pain, otherwise known as gout, is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis.

What are the current dietary recommendations for gout?

Doctors recommend a diet low in purines (chemical compounds that can be broken down into uric acid), which are found in certain meats and seafood. “But following such a diet has limited effectiveness and proves challenging for many patients,” says Hyon Choi, MD, DrPH, director of the Gout and Crystal Arthropathy Center in the MGH Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, senior author of the study.

What is the DASH diet?

The DASH diet (originally created to help patients with high blood pressure) emphasizes eating fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy items, whole grains, poultry, fish and nuts while discouraging eating foods high in saturated fats, cholesterol, trans fats and sodium, as well as red meats and sweets. Several studies have confirmed its ability to reduce risks for hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

What did the study investigate?

The study enrolled over 44,000 men with no history of gout. The research team applied two scoring systems to the dietary patterns of participants:

1. A DASH dietary pattern score (based on the criteria for the DASH diet)
2. A Western dietary pattern score (based on high intake of red and processed meats, French fries, refined grains, sweets and desserts)

What did they find?

During the 26 years of follow up, 1,731 participants were newly diagnosed with gout. Researchers found that a higher DASH dietary pattern score was associated with a lower risk for gout, while a higher western dietary pattern score was associated with an increased risk for gout. “For individuals at high risk for gout, especially those who also have hypertension, the DASH diet is likely to be an ideal preventive approach,” says Sharan Rai, MSc, of the MGH Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, and lead author of the paper.

What are the implications of the study?

While these findings need to be confirmed in future interventional trials, the researchers note that many individuals at risk for gout because of elevated uric acid levels might already be candidates for the DASH diets, since more than half of such individuals also have hypertension. The only group that probably should be careful with the DASH diet would be patients with severe kidney disease, since the diet can be high in potassium.

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