2021 Volume 45 Issue 2 Pages 141-147
People's lifestyles have been changing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying at home and teleworking are likely to increase the risk of lifestyle-related diseases due to imbalanced diets, lack of exercise, and increased psychological stress. Hyperuricemia was also reported to be a risk factor for COVID-19 death. In this study, we examined the changes in consciousness, physical measurements, and blood test results of patients with gout during the COVID-19 pandemic, and found that they stayed at home more, ate out less, and were more stressed. They ate more takeaway meals and snacks. In addition, the ratio of patients with an increased awareness of the need for exercise to those who actually increased their physical activity was low, and the rate of patients with an increased body weight was high. In terms of physical measurements and blood test results, BMI increased significantly from a mean of 25.8 kg/m2 to 26.2 kg/m2 (P<0.001), and serum ALT increased significantly from a mean of 29.7 IU/L to 33.3 IU/L (P<0.05). During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with gout were more conscious of exercise, but their physical activity decreased, and they showed weight gain and progression of fatty liver. Although the patients were aware of the need for exercise, they did not actually change their behavior, and so it is necessary to devise ways to help them change their behavior to avoid obesity and weight gain. As a limitation of the study, it was considered that the timing of the survey and regional characteristics may have affected the results.
