Appearance of ureterorenal stones after gouty arthropathy: a retrospective cohort study for ethnic disparity

Introduction: To investigate the differences in ureterorenal stone appearance after gouty arthropahy between Taiwanese aboriginal and non-aboriginal patients.

Methods: Between 2007 and 2015, patients with first diagnoses of ureterorenal stones after diagnosis of gouty arthropathy at Puli Christian Hospital were enrolled in this study. The patient’s characteristics, underlying diseases, and laboratory data were recorded. Differences were compared between aboriginal and non-aboriginal patients.All categorical variables were analyzed by chi-squaredtest and continuous variables were compared by t-test.

Results: A total of 201 patients (66 aborigines and 135 non-aborigines) were enrolled in the study. Serum uric-acid levels did not differ significantly between aboriginal and non-aboriginal groups (8.61 vs 8.63 mg/dL,p = 0.140). There was a significant difference in the time until ureterorenal stone appearance after gouty arthropathy between aboriginal and non-aboriginal patients (38.0 vs 29.3 months, p = 0.015). Among males, aborigines exhibited gouty arthropathy at younger age than non-aborigines (46.0 vs 50.2 years old, p = 0.035). Furthermore, aborigines exhibited a higher rate of alcoholic hepatitis (26.7% vs 12.2%, p = 0.046).

Conclusion: Among males, aborigines exhibited gouty arthropathy at younger ages than did non-aborigines because of a higher rate of alcoholic hepatitis. The longer time until stone appearance after gouty arthropathy was attributed to alcoholic diuresis. Decreasing alcohol consumption may postpone or halt the development of gouty arthropathy.