Disease of distinction

Abstract

Gout is one of the rare diseases that defines its sufferers by class and culture. It is also one of the first chronic diseases to be clinically described. The Egyptians had identified gout as a distinct disorder by 2640 bce. This paper traces the history of gout from its earliest recorded period down to modern times, with a particular emphasis on the cultural, political, geopolitical, and social aspects. Included is a discussion of its role in the American Revolution. Today, gout is a well-understood clinically managed arthritic disease that excites little comment. This is an entirely modern perspective. For most of human history, gout was a disease of distinction that dominated much of medicine, playing the same role in Rome's third century bce aristocracy it would later play in the aristocracies of 17th and 18th century France and England, when each of these countries dominated the world. Because it was considered a disease of lifestyle until modern times, when genetics began to be understood, gout was associated with rich, high status Caucasian men and their excessive consumption of drink and rich foods. It was virtually unknown in Asia, until Western dietary practices became widespread there. From earliest history, gout has been linked with high IQ and sexual promiscuity, which made it grist for artists and writers, and their social commentary up to the time of Dickens; this is discussed, with examples. Because of its association with the rich, gout also developed a powerful moralistic aspect, particularly during the Christian era when the concept of sin was a cultural fundamental. The loose living and indulgence of the rich and the gout it produced made the disease a parable of Christian ethics. The Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) was one of the first to establish this nuance, and it influenced how gout was seen for centuries. Part of what gave gout its special character was that while it tortured, it rarely killed. Indeed, when death was a frequent visitor to families, it was thought a painful but welcomed prophylactic against diseases that did kill. Even in modern times, gout still favors the rich and powerful. American research conducted in the 1960s found that corporate executives, just like their English gentry, or Roman senatorial predecessors, had higher urate concentrations than their blue-collar employees.