A study on the relationship between short-term climate change and gout attacks

Abstract

It is well-known that gout attacks are common from spring to summer, and causes include dehydration due to a high temperature and changes in dietary habits depending on the season, but this is not clear. In this area of Japan, temperature fluctuations from May to September 2019 were more intense than usual, and it was possible to observe the relationship between temperature changes and gout attacks in this short period, excluding the effects of dietary changes. In interviews, we asked questions on the onset time to 105 first-time patients (mean age: 48.2 years ± 12.5, median: 47 years old, all male patients) who visited our outpatient clinic with a gout attack from May 1st to September 30th, 2019. When compared with the temperature data in Kumamoto of the Japan Meteorological Agency (maximum temperature, minimum temperature, temperature difference), the highest temperature was lower in May compared with other months, but the average temperature difference was 11.4 °C, the largest during the period, and the number of patients was the highst. Moreover, the number of patients increased when the temperature fell once and then rose again. In May, the temperature rise and temperature difference were large, and it was considered that one of the reasons for the gouty attacks was that the body was not able to adapt to this temperature change. When the urine specific gravity was compared between the patients who had gouty attacks in May and August, it tended to be higher in the patients in May. For this reason, many people are concerned about drinking water in August when the temperature is high, but it is considered that the proportion of people who drink water actively in May when the temperature is still low may also be low. However, this survey consideres results from a limited time with a limited number of samples, and to clarify whether the same trend occur every year, it is necessary to conduct further studies.

Based on the results there were many gout attacks in the summer, but patient guidance was given in consideration of the fact that many gout attacks appear from the transition of the season such as early summer, and the source/volume of drinking water should be kept in mind from that time. Hopefully, more detailed patient guidance will be possible by carrying out such studies.