Gout Is Associated with Lower Risk for Alzheimer Disease

Although hyperuricemia (a precursor to gout) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, evidence suggests that higher blood uric acid levels also are associated with lower risk for neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson disease and dementia. To assess the effect of gout on risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD), researchers used a U.K. medical-records database to compare about 59,000 gout patients (mean age, 65) and 239,000 patients without gout who were matched by age, sex, and body-mass index.

During a median 5-year follow-up, new cases of AD developed in 309 gout patients and in 1942 matched controls. In analyses adjusted for multiple variables, patients with gout were 24% less likely to develop AD than those without gout. R…