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. 2016 Nov 1;2(2):e000326.
doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2016-000326. eCollection 2016.

Prevalence and incidence of gout in southern Sweden from the socioeconomic perspective

Meliha C Kapetanovic  1 , Mohaned Hameed  1 , Aleksandra Turkiewicz  2 , Tuhina Neogi  3 , Tore Saxne  1 , Lennart Jacobsson  4 , Martin Englund  5
Affiliations

Prevalence and incidence of gout in southern Sweden from the socioeconomic perspective

Meliha C Kapetanovic et al. RMD Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and cumulative incidence of gout in southern Sweden with respect to socioeconomic status.

Methods: Among residents of Skåne region in the year 2013 (total population 1.3 million), adult persons (age 18 years +) who between 1998 and 2013 received a diagnosis of gout (International Classification of Disease 10th Edition (ICD-10) code M10) by any physician were identified using the Skåne Healthcare Register. We calculated the point prevalence by end of 2013 and annual cumulative incidence in 2013 standardised to the whole Skåne population according to sex, individual information on occupation (white collar/blue collar), income (low/middle/high) and level of education (primary school/high school/university).

Results: The crude 2013 point prevalence of gout and 2013 cumulative incidence (95% CI) were 1.69% (1.66% to 1.71%) and 24 cases per 10 000 persons (23-25), respectively. Compared to women, men had higher point prevalence (2.44% (2.40% to 2.49%) vs 0.96% (0.93% to 0.98%)) and higher annual cumulative incidence (33 cases per 10 000 (32-35)) versus 15 (14-16)). These figures increased with higher age but decreased with higher level of education, being the lowest in individuals with a university degree. Persons with middle income had highest point prevalence and cumulative incidence of gout, while those with white collar occupations had the lowest.

Conclusions: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in southern Sweden with a prevalence of ∼1.7% in the adult population. There is a socioeconomic gradient with more gout present in the lower level of education and with more manual labour.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Gout; Outcomes research.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The 2013 point prevalence (black circles) and cumulative incidence (grey open circles) of gout with 95% CIs by socioeconomic groups, age and sex standardised to the whole adult Skåne population.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The 2013 point prevalence and cumulative incidence of gout with 95% CIs, by age group and sex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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