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Real-world treatment of gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia: A cross-sectional study of Japanese health insurance claims data

Ruriko Koto, A. Nakajima, Hideki Horiuchi, H. Yamanaka

Modern Rheumatology, 2020

56 citations

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To assess gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia in Japan and review treatment conditions. Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout, and characteristics and treatment of patients with those conditions, using Japanese health insurance claims and medical check-up data collected from April 2016 through March 2017. Results Among 2,531,383 persons registered in the database, 1.1% (men 1.9%, women 7.0 mg/dL). Urate-lowering therapy (ULT) was prescribed for 80.7% of patients identified with gout and 72.4% identified with asymptomatic hyperuricemia. ULT adherence was satisfactory, but most patients were treated with low-dose ULT. Less than half of patients receiving ULT achieved the sUA target (≤6.0 mg/dL). In gout patients, the incidence of gout flare was 47.8% (0.74 flares/person-year). Conclusions Although hyperuricemia prevalence is similar in Japan and worldwide, gout is comparatively rare in Japan. Gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia are often treated with low-dose ULT, and many patients fail to reach target sUA, suggesting that gout management is suboptimal in Japan. Patients would benefit from stricter focus on a treat-to-target approach for gout management.

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