Sugary Drinks Increase Risk of Gout by Altering Function of a Genetic Variant

Sugary drinks can raise the risk of a painful form of arthritis by tweaking a gene, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Otago and Auckland, found that a certain variant of the gene SLC2A9 can turn bad in the presence of sugary drinks, increasing the risk of gout.

Gout is the most painful type of arthritis. It is caused due to buildup of uric acid in the blood and causes hot, stiff, red and swollen joints. About 8.3 million adults in the U.S. suffer from gout. Cherries help ease the pain as they are known to have anti-urate and anti-inflammatory properties.

The genetic variant of SLC2A9, when behaving correctly, takes out uric acid from the blood and helps remove it through the kidney. However, when people with this genetic variation consume sugary drinks, this variant changes its function and instead lets the uric acid accumulate in the blood.

"So, not only does sugar raise uric acid in the blood due to processing in the liver, but it also appears to directly interfere with excretion of uric acid from the kidney. This was a quite unpredictable interaction," Tony Merriman from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago , said in a news release.

The study was based on a blood sample analysis of 1634 people of European, Maori and Pacific ancestry recruited between 2007 and 2012. Previous research had already established a relation between sugary drinks consumption and risk of gout in people of European ancestry. The latest study shows that people of Maori and Pacific ancestry also have increased risk of gout if they drink excess amount of sugary drinks.

The study is published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, gout can be controlled by drinking plenty of water, avoiding low-carb diets and food that is high in purines such as beef kidneys, brains and anchovies.