GNot primarily a disease of the elderly, about seven percent of all people over 65 are affected. But doctors also see an increase in cases among younger people. The main reason for the gout is the excessive consumption of meat and alcohol, especially beer.
Another risk factor is being overweight. However, the penchant for sumptuous meals and happy, cheerful feasts is just one piece of the puzzle when answering an important question: Why doesn’t one and the other hit? After all, many meat-loving hedonists are spared from gout – some cereal enthusiasts, on the other hand, fall ill despite abstinence.
This question also concerns the Freiburg scientist Anna Köttgen. The director of the Institute for Genetic Epidemiology at the University Hospital Freiburg researches the genetic causes of gout. The latest work under her leadership was published in early October, a real mammoth project: Scientists from 195 institutions in over 15 countries have evaluated the data of more than 450,000 study participants.
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