AB0126 ASSESSMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK AMONG PATIENTS WITH GOUT
Authors: Y. EL Mabrouk, Y. Makhlouf, S. Miladi, A. Fazaa, H. Boussaa, L. Souabni, K. Ouenniche, S. Kassab, S. Chikili, K. Ben Abdelghani, A. Laatar
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Gout is associated with an elevated risk of developing cardiovascular events [1]. Recent studies suggested that hyperuricemia may promote cardiovascular disease independently of other cardiovascular risk factors. This is mainly explained by the chronic state of inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. <h3>Objectives:</h3> Our study aimed to assess the cardiovascular risk in patients with gout compared to individuals without hyperuricemia and to identify the associated factors. <h3>Methods:</h3> We conducted a cross-sectional study including patients with gout recruited from the rheumatology department of Mongi Slim Hospital. Inclusion criteria concerned patients with gout or hyperuricemia. The control group encompassed patients with knee osteoarthritis. Sociodemographic characteristics as well as disease-related data were collected (number of flares, uric acid serum level, treatment modalities).The cardiovascular risk was assessed by the Heart Score [2]. The latter calculates the 10-year risk of fatal disease events with the following cut-offs: low risk &lt;3%, 3%≤moderate risk≤4%, 5%≤high risk≤ 9% and very high risk ≥10% [2]. We compared the cardiovascular risk between patients with gout (G1) and the control group (G2). The level of significance was fixed for p&lt;0.05. <h3>Results:</h3> The study included 65 patients: 54% with gout or asymptomatic hyperuricemia and 46% in the control group. The mean age was 62 years [36-85] in G1 and 53 [33-79] in G2 (p&gt;0.05). The mean duration of gout was 9 years [1-20]. The majority of the patients (87%) suffering from gout or hyperuricemia were males. The number of flares per year was 0.37 [0-2]. Treatment modalities were distributed as follows: Purinol (77%), Colchicine (45%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (10%) and corticosteroids (6%). The mean Uricemia before and under treatment was 555 µmol/L [256-860] and 400 [230-820] respectively. Signs of chronic gout were found in 55% of cases and were distributed as follows: nephropathy (23%), tophus (13%) and arthropathy (19%). Compared to controls, patients in G1 had more cardiovascular disease manifestations: 70% (hypertension (36%), coronary artery disease (17%), and dyslipidemia (17%)) versus 46% (p=0.001). The mean SCORE was significantly higher in G1 compared with G2 (5.2% [1-15] vs 1.5% [1-4], p&lt;0.001; respectively). A high to very high cardiovascular risk score was more observed in G1 than in G2 (p=0.001). A strong association was found between a higher SCORE and male gender (p&lt;0.001), the number of comorbidities (p=0.003) and number of flares (p=0.024). However, we did not find a statistically significant correlation between the SCORE and chronic gout manifestations (p=0.3), the level of uricemia (p=0.7) and urate-lowering therapy (p=0.3). <h3>Conclusion:</h3> This study highlighted the higher cardiovascular risk among patients with gout, especially males. Uricemia levels did not influence the cardiovascular risk. Further studies are needed to delineate the link between hyperuricemia as a potential risk factor and an increased cardiovascular risk. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> [1] Burnier M. Gout and hyperuricaemia: modifiable cardiovascular risk factors? Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023 May 25;10:1190069. [2] Conroy RM et al. Estimation of ten-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease in Europe: the SCORE project. Eur Heart J. 2003 Jun;24(11):987-1003 <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> <b>NIL.</b> <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>