Table 1.
Increasing prevalence of gout: epidemiological data from New Zealand, the USA, the UK and China
| Study | Survey date | Study population | Case definition | Prevalence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | ||||
| Lennane and colleagues [4] | 1958 | Random community sample | Personal interview and examination | European 3/1,000, Maori 27/1,000 |
| Prior and Rose [5] | 1966 | Random community sample | Personal interview and examination | European 9/1,000, Maori 60/1,000 |
| Klemp and colleagues [6] | 1992 | Random community sample | Personal interview and examination; 1977 ARA criteria | European 29/1,000, Maori 64/1,000 |
| USA | ||||
| Wallace and colleagues [7] | 1990 | Medical claims database | Claims with gout diagnosis or urate-lowering drugs | 2.9/1,000 |
| 1999 | 5.2/1,000 | |||
| Lawrence and colleagues [8,9] | 1969 | National Health Interview Surveys | Self-reported gout | 4.8/1,000 |
| 1976 | 7.8/1,000 | |||
| 1980 | 8.3/1,000 | |||
| 1983 to 1985 | 9.9/1,000 | |||
| 1988 | 8.5/1,000 | |||
| 1992 | 8.4/1,000 | |||
| UK | ||||
| Currie [10] | 1975 | GP records | GP diagnosis | 2.6/1,000 |
| Steven [11] | 1987 | GP records (Scotland) | Specialist review of clinical records | 3.4/1,000 |
| Harris and colleagues [12] | 1993 | GP records (England) | GP diagnosis | 9.5/1,000 |
| Mikuls and colleagues [13] | 1999 | UK-GPRD | GP diagnosis | 14/1,000 |
| Annemans and colleagues [14] | 2000 to 2005 | IMS Disease Analyzer | GP diagnosis | 14/1,000 |
| Elliot and colleagues [15] | 2001 | RCGP Weekly Returns Service | GP diagnosis | 4.3/1,000 |
| 2003 | 4.9/1,000 | |||
| 2005 | 4.8/1,000 | |||
| 2007 | 4.7/1,000 | |||
| China | ||||
| Nan and colleagues [16] | 2002 | Random community sample | Self-report, confirmed in medical records | 3.6/1,000 |
| Miao and colleagues [17] | 2004 | Random community sample | Questionnaire, physical examination | 5.3/1,000 |
| 1977 ARA criteria | ||||
| Taiwan | ||||
| Chou and colleagues [18] | Not stated | Random community sample | Questionnaire, physical examination. Hyperuricaemia/synovial fluid analysis | Rural 1.6/1,000. suburban 6.7/1,000, urban 6.7/1,000 |
| Chang and colleagues [19] | 1993 to 1995 | Random community sample | Personal interview, 1977 ARA criteria | Aborigine 91/1,000, non-Aborigine 3/1,000 |
| Lin and colleagues [20] | 1993 to 1996 | Nutrition and Health Survey | Personal interview, physical examination | 34/1,000 |
ARA, American Rheumatism Association; GP, general practitioner; RCGP, Royal College of General Practitioners; UK-GPRD, UK General Practice Research Database.