Bidirectional Association between Diabetes and Gout: The Singapore Chinese Health Study

Abstract

We aimed to prospectively investigate the bidirectional association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and gout. We analyzed follow-up data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, when self-reports of diagnosed diabetes and gout were enquired at follow-ups I and II. Individuals who participated in both follow-ups and were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer at follow-up I were included. For T2D to gout (analysis I), prevalent gout were further excluded (final n = 31,137). For gout to T2D (analysis II), prevalent diabetes were excluded (final n = 28,668). Cox regression models were used to estimate relative risks (RRs). In the analysis I, the RR of diabetes to incident gout (682 cases) was 0.77 (95% CI 0.60-0.97). In the analysis II, the RR of gout to incident diabetes (2223 cases) was 1.36 (1.12-1.63), but became insignificant after adjustment for hypertension and BMI (1.00; 0.83-1.21). The gout to diabetes association was modified by BMI (P interaction = 0.04) and hypertension (P interaction = 0.007), and it was marginally significant in adults with BMI<24 while significant among non-hypertensive participants, but not in their counterparts. In conclusion, our results suggest that diabetes is associated with a lower risk of incident gout, while gout is positively related to diabetes among normal weight and non-hypertensive adults.