Healthier habits can curb gout, doctors say

Doctors in Guangdong province are urging people to adopt healthier eating and exercise habits to control uric acid levels, as the coastal region records a significant number of gout patients.

Hyperuricemia, or abnormally high levels of uric acid in the blood, causes gout. Adults with hyperuricemia made up 14 percent of China's population in a chronic disease monitoring survey conducted between 2018 and 2019, compared with 1.4 percent in 1980, said Li Tianwang, professor and director of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital.

The prevalence was about 20 percent in Guangdong, with some cities reporting rates much higher than the provincial average.