Study Links Occupational Exposure to Dust to Gout Risk
Individuals exposed to inorganic dust through their occupation have an increased risk of gout, according to a new study presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. The findings also reaffirm alcoholism and obesity as risk factors for the condition.
Research has shown an association between occupational exposure to inorganic dust and an increased incidence of inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. However, an association between gout and occupational exposure to inorganic dust had never been identified.
For the study, the researchers identified cases of gout (n=6120) from a Swedish health care database from 2006 through 2012. The cases were matched to up to 5 control cases (n=25074) based on age, sex, and place of residence.
All Individuals with gout were employed during the 5-year period prior to first diagnosis. Data on occupation were collected from official registries and used to designate exposure status using an existing job exposure matrix for inorganic dust.
Results showed a significant association between gout and occupational exposure to inorganic dust among all participants (odds ratio [OR], 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04-1.17).
After adjusting for risk factors, the association between gout and occupational exposure to inorganic dust was reduced among all participants (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.99-1.14) yet remained significant among women (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.07-1.51).
Further analysis showed that gout was highly associated with obesity and alcoholism; gout was more than twice as likely to occur among participants with alcoholism (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.94-2.62) and more than 3 times as likely to occur among participants with obesity (OR, 3.75; 95% CI, 3.36-4.19).
“This is the first time occupational exposure to inorganic dust has been shown to be associated with the development of gout,” said lead study author Valgerdur Sigurdardottir, MD, from the Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden. “Further study is needed to understand the dangers of exposure to inorganic dust in relation to gout and other inflammatory rheumatic diseases.”
—Melinda Stevens
References:
- Sigurdardottir V, Svärd A, Jacobsson LTH, Schiöler L, Torén K, Dehlin M. Occupational exposure to inorganic dust–a novel risk factor for incident gout? [EULAR OP0054]. Ann Rheum Dis. 2019;78(suppl 2):A98. http://scientific.sparx-ip.net/archiveeular/?searchfor=OP0054&c=a&view=1&item=2019OP0054. Accessed June 12, 2019.
- Exposure to inorganic dust increases risk of gout in women by 27% [press release]. Madrid, Spain: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology; June 12, 2019. https://www.eular.org/sysModules/obxContent/files/www.eular.2015/1_42291DEB-50E5-49AE-5726D0FAAA83A7D4/12_abstract_op0054_inorganic_dust_and_gout_final.pdf. Accessed June 12, 2019.