Adherence to Urate-Lowering Therapy Associated With Lower Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Gout

Patients with gout, especially those aged younger than 65 years and men, receiving treatment with urate-lowering therapy (ULT) are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) if they had an adherence rate of at least 0.7, according to study results published in Frontiers of Medicine.

Data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database between January 1999 and December 2013 were collected. In addition, patients with newly diagnosed gout from 2000 to 2012 who were aged 20 years and older and who received treatment with allopurinol or benzbromarone within half a year were included in the study.

Outcome of interest was CVD. The CVD group included a new diagnosis of CVD after half a year of diagnosis with gout. The odds ratio (OR) of CVD in relation to the days of usage and the adherence rate of ULT was calculated.

Overall, 3706 patients with gout with and without CVD were enrolled in the study and matched 1:1 for age, sex, comorbidities, aspirin, and statins.

 Adherence rate of at least 0.7 for allopurinol and benzbromarone had a lower risk for CVD (adjusted OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.46-0.96 and 0.68; 95% CI, 0.50-0.91, respectively).

In a subgroup analysis, an adherence rate of at least 0.7 to ULT with lower CVD risk was observed among men and patients aged younger than 65 years.

The associations were also more significant in the ischemic heart disease subgroup compared with the cerebrovascular disease group.

Researchers concluded that, “…health care providers who prescribe gout medications may emphasize the importance of monitoring and supporting adherence to this therapy.”

Reference

Chuang T-J, Wang Y-H, Wei J C-C, Yeh C-J. Anti-gout medications and risk of cardiovascular disease: A nested case-control study. Front Med. Published online October 18, 2021. doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.739680