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The burden of gout increased globally across the 20th and 21st centuries.1 However, a study using cross-sectional datasets demonstrated stable prevalence of hyperuricaemia and gout in the USA between 2007 and 2016.2 Additionally, given poor persistence with urate-lowering treatment (ULT), the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ULT prescription in a nationwide cohort merits assessment to ascertain any detrimental impact.3 The objectives of this study were to examine temporal trends in incidence and prevalence of gout, and ULT prescription between 1997 and 2021.
Anonymised data from Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), one of the largest databases of electronic health records originating during routine clinical care, were used. The study spanned from 01 January 1997 to 31 August 2021. Gout status and ULT prescriptions were ascertained using Read and product codes (online supplemental material).
Supplemental material
Point prevalence (95% CIs) of gout on 1 July of each year was calculated with CPRD population registered on that date as denominator. Incidence (95% CI) of gout per 1000 person-years in each calendar year was calculated using number of incident cases and total follow-up period in that year. The incidence and prevalence were directly standardised to the study population for age, sex and length of registration in CPRD3 (online supplemental material). Proportion (95% CI) of prevalent gout cases prescribed ULT within 90 days prior to 1 July in each year, and incident gout cases prescribed ULT within 1 year of diagnosis were calculated and directly standardised to the relevant study populations. …
Footnotes
Handling editor Josef S Smolen
Contributors AA conceived the idea for the study, contributed to the study design, performed the analysis, interpreted the results and critically reviewed the paper. AJA contributed to the study design and interpretation of the results, and critically reviewed the paper. LJT contributed to the study design, advised on the analysis and interpretation of the results, and critically reviewed the paper. MM contributed to the study design and critically reviewed the paper.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests AA has received departmental research grants from AstraZeneca and Oxford Immunotec, speaker bureau fees from Menarini, scientific meeting support from Pfizer, consulting fees from Inflazome, speaker fees from Cadilla pharmaceuticals, and author royalties from UpToDate and Springer, unrelated to this work.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.