Incidence and prevalence of gout in Western Sweden

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to describe prevalence and trends in the incidence of gout and patterns of urate-lowering treatment (ULT) in the Western Swedish Health Care Region (WSHCR) from 2002 to 2012. METHODS: We used regional and national healthcare registers to estimate the prevalence and incidence of gout in 2012, and trends in incidence for each calendar year from 2005 to 2012. We also investigated the pattern of ULT for gout using the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. RESULTS: In 2012, in the population aged 20 years and above, the prevalence of gout was 1.8 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.77 to 1.82) and the incidence was 190 cases (95 % CI 180 to 200) per 100,000 person-years. Applying more strict definitions for a gout case rendered a prevalence of 1.36 % (95 % CI 1.34 to 1.38) and 0.5 (95 % CI 0.49 to 0.51) per 100,000 person-years, respectively. The incidence of gout increased steadily and significantly from 2005 to 2012, with an almost 50 % increase in the total population. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of gout in rural compared to urban areas. ULT was dispensed to only 42 % of patients with gout in 2012 who had ever been diagnosed with gout during the preceding 10-year period. CONCLUSIONS: Gout is the most common arthritic disease in WSHCR, Sweden, and has increased substantially over the last decade, with only a minority of prevalent cases in 2012 receiving ULT. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13075-016-1062-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.