The risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with gout: a nationwide population-based study

Many studies have found that systemic inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Gout is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder, but little evidence exists regarding whether the risk of AF is increased in patients with gout. The National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan was used in this study, and gout was defined as the occurrence of at least one episode of an acute gout attack requiring medical treatment. A total of 63264 gout and 63264 age- and gender-matched patients were included as the study population. The Cox model was used to evaluate the risk of AF in patients with gout. Patients with gout experienced a greater frequency of co-morbidities compared to patients without gout. The cumulative incidences of AF were 4.61% and 3.04% in patients with and without gout, respectively (log-rank test, P < 0.001). After adjusting for co-morbidities and prescription medication use, gout was found to be associated with AF [hazard ratio (HR), 1.38]. Moreover, the HR for AF decreased with increasing age in our study. Gout was found to be associated with an increased risk of developing AF after adjusting for potential confounders.