Adhering to a Healthy Diet May Lower Risk for Gout in Women
Gout is an inflammatory type of arthritis that leads to recurrent flare-ups in which a joint (often in the big toe) suddenly becomes swollen, red and painful. Gout affects more men than women, but it has been increasing among women. Diet may play a role in raising risk for gout among people susceptible to developing it. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine (January 2021) examined the effect of four healthy eating patterns on risk for gout in women. The study included more than 80,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study, which has been administering health questionnaires every two years to female nurses since 1984. Compared with women least adherent to a healthy diet, those who ate the healthiest diets had up to a 32% lower risk for developing gout. When combined with normal weight and not using diuretic drugs (which increase risk for gout), a healthy diet resulted in risk reduction of 65%.
