Jakarta –
In South Korea, the number of cases of gout is on the rise, among which young people predominate. Many young people in their 20s and 40s develop gout due to the habit of drinking high fructose drinks such as cola and cider.
To date, the number of patients with gout in the country has exceeded 500 thousand per year. Last year, the number of people treated for gout reached 508,397, an increase of 17.1 percent over 4 years compared to 2018, to a total of 433,984.
The number of patients aged 20 to 30 increased by 44 percent from 87,000 in 2017 and jumped to 124,000 in 2021.
At the same time, about 471,568 people, or 92.8 percent, were male patients. The rest, or about 36,828 patients, were female patients.
Looking at the age group, 116,357 people were aged 40, followed by 105,448 people aged 50 and 89,894 people aged 60.
Recently, however, the number of young patients aged 20 to 40 has increased dramatically. It is known that the provoking factor is the use of drinks with the addition of high fructose corn syrup.
“Gout often occurs in middle-aged men who are obese and drink a lot of alcohol. Because obesity itself increases the production of uric acid in the body, and kidney function gradually deteriorates, resulting in poor excretion of uric acid,” said Kim Moon Young. , professor of rheumatology at St. Mary’s Incheon Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, quotation from Hankookilbo.
“Recently, young people who overeat and do not exercise due to stress and eat dinner often also develop gout,” he continued.
The most common symptoms of uric acid
The most common symptom of gout is stabbing pain. According to the Korean Society of Rheumatology, gout symptoms most commonly occur in the big toe (56–70 percent), back of the foot (20–25 percent), ankles, hands, and fingers.
Watching the rise in cases of uric acid in South Korea, attention has been turned to symptomatic limbs. For example, like the big toe, instep, ankle, knee, foot suddenly become inflamed, swollen and reddened.
“On the Visual Pain Scale, which rates gout pain on a scale of 0 to 10, it causes severe pain. To the point where labor pains are rated at 8 points, and gout at 9 points, ”explained Kim Moon Young. .
To overcome this, proper treatment, diet and lifestyle changes are the priority of gout treatment.
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(sao/kna)