GOUT IS ON THE INCREASE IN NEW-ZEALAND

Objective-To determine the current prevalence of hyperuricaemia and go ut in New Zealand Maori and Europeans for comparison with previous stu dies. Methods-342 Maori and 315 European men and women aged 15 years a nd older were studied by personal interview and a musculoskeletal syst em examination. The 1977 ARA criteria for gout in a survey setting wer e used and serum uric acid was determined by a uricase method. The dat a were compared with those of previous New Zealand studies. Results-Go ut was significantly more common in Maori (6.4%) than Europeans (2.9%) (Delta = 3.6%, 95% confidence interval 0.4 to 6.8) and in Maori men ( 13.9%) than in European men (5.8%) (Delta = 8.1%, 95% CI 1.0 to 15.2). Hyperuricaemia was significantly more common in Maori men (27.1%) tha n in European men (9.4%) (Delta = 17.7%, 95% CI 8.3 to 27.1) and in Ma ori women (26.6%) than in European women (10.5%) (Delta = 16.1%, 95% C I 8.5 to 23.7). At feast 14% of hyperuricaemic individuals were receiv ing diuretics, of whom 78% were women. Comparison with previous studie s shows that the prevalence of gout has increased in both Maori and Eu ropeans, particularly in men. In Maori men the prevalence of gout has risen from 4.5-10.4% previously to 13.9%, and in European men from 0.7 %-2.0% previously to 5.8%. Clinical differences included a stronger fa mily history, earlier age at onset, and a higher frequency of tophi an d polyarticular gout in Maori than Europeans. Of those with gout, 62% of Maori and 63% of Europeans were hyperuricaemic on the day surveyed and six (19.4%) were on diuretics. Treatment of gout was inadequate in most cases. Conclusions-Hyperuricaemia and gout remain common among M aori. Of concern is that the prevalence of gout appears to be on the i ncrease, not only in Maori but also in Europeans in New Zealand.