Prevalence and Pattern of Metabolic Syndrome in Patients Presenting with Gouty Arthritis in a Tertiary Health Centre in Zaria, North Western Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients presenting with hyperuricemia and gouty arthritis to the rheumatology clinic of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria. Methods: The study is a retrospective study of patients that presented to the rheumatology clinic of ABUTH Zaria with gouty arthritis. We reviewed the medical records of patients that presented to the rheumatology clinic and medical wards of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospitals with gouty arthritis over 10 years period (January 2011- December 2020). The following parameters: demographic variables, pattern of joint involvement, duration of gouty arthritis, anthropometric measures, and blood pressure. Results of fasting blood glucose, fasting lipid profile, electrolyte urea and creatinine were also retrieved. Diagnosis of gouty arthritis was based on American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria. Metabolic syndrome was defined using National Cholesterol Education Program- Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) classification criteria. Of the 160 patients with gout seen in the period under review, 22 patients were excluded from the study on account of incomplete results. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 160 gout arthritis patients were seen in the period under review of a total of 1520 rheumatology patients, thereby constituting 10.5% of all Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs). However, only 138 gout patients that had complete data were studied. This consisted of 94 (68.1%) males and 44 (31.9%) females. The mean age at presentation of gouty arthritis patients was 56.5+ 10.6 years. The mean serum uric acid was 566.5 + 170.1µmol/L. Hypertension was recorded in 86 (62.3 %), Diabetes Mellitus in 19 (13.8%), abnormal waist circumference in 72 (52.2 %), low HDL in 49(35.5%) and hypertriglyceridemia in 83 (60.1 %) of patients. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 59 (42.8%) patients and the prevalence of Metabolic syndrome was higher in males compared to female gouty arthritis patients. Conclusion: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in gouty arthritis patients is 42.8%. Efforts should be intensified at screening patients presenting with gouty arthritis for metabolic syndrome to forestall adverse cardiovascular outcomes.