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Fructose consumption rapidly raises blood uric acid levels. In a recent study, consumption of fructose in sweetened soft drinks, fruit juices, and other foods was associated with elevated risk for gout in men (JW Gen Med Feb 26 2008). Might the same be true for women? Validated food-frequency questionnaires from nearly 79,000 women in the prospective Nurses' Health Study were used to answer this question; participants were gout free at baseline and were followed for 22 years.
At the study's end, 778 women had developed gout. After adjustment for multiple variables (e.g., age, body-mass index, medical conditions), daily consumption of one fructose-sweetened soft drink significantly raised risk for gout by 74% (relative risk, 1.74), and daily …