The number of young gout patients in Korea increased by 50% in 5 years.
Causes such as frequent drinking and eating delivery food, etc.
Excessive exercise and eating chicken breast also cause uric acid accumulation.
After early diagnosis, treatment with anti-inflammatory medication is required.
Mr. Kim, a 29-year-old who runs a mukbang YouTube channel, recently went to the hospital because the pain in his toes got worse. After undergoing various tests, Mr. Kim was diagnosed with ‘gout’. His problem was that since the COVID-19 epidemic began, he had often consumed beer, highballs, and fatty foods while hosting live broadcasts.
Gout, which means it hurts even when the wind passes by, refers to the spread of inflammation to the joints of the limbs and surrounding soft tissues due to excessive buildup of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid means an acidic substance that comes out in urine. It refers to the amino acid purine, which is found in large quantities in meat and fish, being used as energy in the body and coming out in the form of waste through urine. Beer, other alcoholic beverages, fruit juices, and carbonated drinks also contain a lot of purine, a precursor to uric acid.
Song Jeong-su, a professor of rheumatology at Chung-Ang University Hospital, said, “Uric acid residues created in the body must be expelled from the body through the kidneys, but if the kidneys do not excrete uric acid well, the remaining uric acid accumulates, and uric acid crystals formed in this process travel through the blood.” “It accumulates in joints, kidneys, blood vessels, etc.,” he said. “When our body’s immune system, especially white blood cells, mistake uric acid for bacteria or viruses and attack it, an inflammatory response occurs in the body.”
In the past, gout was famous as a representative disease of men in their 40s and 50s, but recently, the number of patients in their 20s and 30s has been rapidly increasing. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service on the 7th, the total number of patients receiving hospital treatment for gout increased by about 18.3% from 430,953 in 2018 to 509,699 in 2022. Looking at how the number of gout patients increased by age during the period, those in their 20s increased the most at 48.5%. The increase rate for patients in their 30s was the second largest at 26.7%. Those in their 40s (22.6%), 60s (17.1%), 50s (6.9%), and 70s (3.8%) followed in that order.
Professor Song said, “Recently, the number of gout patients visiting the clinic has been increasing among those in their 20s and 30s, and the changed eating habits, drinking, lifestyle habits, and stress of the younger generation are analyzed as major factors.” He added, “In particular, meat such as chicken and high-fat delivery food are increasing. “The reason appears to be that while the number of people enjoying soju and beer has increased significantly, their physical activity has decreased significantly.”
Choi Hyo-jin, a professor of rheumatology at Gachon University Gil Hospital, said, “If your toes or ankle joints are red and swollen and it is difficult to walk, you should suspect gout. Above all, it is important to abstain from alcohol and control your weight. It is important to drink water frequently to prevent dehydration. “It’s good,” he said.
It is true that obesity is the main cause of gout, but it is pointed out that excessive dieting and intense exercise can also cause gout attacks, so caution must be taken. If you suddenly start fasting to lose weight, even if the uric acid concentration in your body drops, uric acid may stick to your joints and cause severe joint pain. The risk of gout increases as the uric acid concentration in the blood does not remain constant and rises and falls rapidly. Excessive intake of protein such as chicken breast, meat, and fish while dieting can also lead to gout.
According to Chung-Ang University Hospital, the amount of protein adults should consume per day is about 0.8 to 1 g per kg of body weight. For an adult male weighing 70 kg, eating only 56 to 70 g per day is sufficient. Professor Song said, “I meet many people who got gout because they only ate chicken breast to get in shape,” and added, “In particular, if you exercise too vigorously, many of the cells in your body will break down and the uric acid in those cells can circulate through the blood, so avoid doing so.” “It’s good,” he said.
Gout mainly occurs in men, but in women, the incidence of gout increases to a level similar to that of men after menopause. This is because the female hormone called estrogen, which promotes uric acid excretion, is not produced after menopause. This is why women in their 60s and 70s must pay special attention to gout. In addition, gout patients need to be careful when taking aspirin. This is because low-dose aspirin (100 mg) can increase serum uric acid concentration by decreasing uric acid excretion.
Professor Choi said, “In the early stages of gout, drug treatment to control inflammation is mainly used,” and “Nevertheless, if seizure symptoms persist, uric acid lowering medication must be prescribed, which must be taken consistently even if there is no pain.”
2024-02-09 01:39:15
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