High Cholesterol Has An Unexpected Link To This Painful Condition – Health Digest

Gout is a form of arthritis that develops when your kidneys can’t handle the excess amount of uric acid in your system. A gout attack occurs when uric acid crystals form and settle into your joints, usually the big toe. Gout attacks can last for a week or two, and they can be quite painful for gout sufferers.

High lipid levels in your blood are linked to more gout attacks. A 2019 article in BMJ studied 68 patients with gout–some had high cholesterol and high triglycerides while others had normal lipid levels. The people with high cholesterol had significantly more gout attacks than those with normal cholesterol levels. Similarly, having high triglycerides also increases your risk of having more gout attacks. A 2022 study in the Journal of Personalized Medicine matched the health data of more than 16,000 people who had gout with more than 66,000 people who did not. People with gout were 50% more likely to also have a history of high cholesterol than people without gout.

It might be possible that high levels of uric acid could increase your risk of developing high cholesterol, according to a 2018 study in the International Journal of Cardiology. After adjusting for age, BMI, smoking, and drinking habits, healthy people who had high levels of serum uric acid were more likely to see higher LDL cholesterol levels five years later.