Occurrence of Gout in Copenhagen Males Aged 40–59

: As part of a cardiovascular survey study on the relationships between physical fitness and coronary heart disease, 5249 Copenhagen males aged between 40 and 59 were interviewed to identify a history of gout. Subjects who had experienced attacks of painful swelling, with abrupt onset and remission in one to two weeks, diagnosed and treated as gout by their own physician, were regarded as having experienced gout. In an initial cross-sectional examination, 86 men fulfilled the criteria. At a one year follow-up examination it was discovered that 56 men had had gout during the year of observation. Among these 18 were new cases. At the end of the study a total of 104 men had experienced gout and these were compared, with respect to the continuously distributed variables, those 104 gout subjects were compared to 208 computer selected age-matched controls drawn at random from the entire sample. The gout cases were found to have higher relative weights, higher diastolic blood pressure and lower levels of physical fitness estimated by use of a bicycle ergometer test. Angina pectoris occurred more frequently among the gout cases than among controls. No significant differences in the occurrence of myocardial infarction, intermittent claudication or renal stones were found. The habits of smoking and coffee consumption were equal in gout cases and controls. Alcohol consumption and consumption of drugs were higher in gout cases than controls. Gout was the most frequent in the lowest social classes.