KEY POINTS:
South Auckland is being labelled the gout capital of the world as an epidemic of the acutely painful condition sweeps through the region.
Poor lifestyle choices and the genetic vulnerability Maori and Pacific men have to gout are major factors in the epidemic, says Counties Manukau District Health Board rheumatologist Dr Peter Gow.
More than 10,000 South Aucklanders are now thought to be suffering from gout, which causes swollen tendons and joints when too much uric acid builds up in the body.
A comparable figure of sufferers had not been gathered before, Dr Gow told the Herald yesterday, but anecdotal evidence suggested the condition's prevalence was increasing with alarming speed.
He believed just 6 per cent of Maori men suffered from gout in the region 20 years ago.
That had now risen to 10 per cent, while 15 per cent of Pacific men in the region now suffered from gout.
That "scary statistic" meant gout was contributing to health and inequality issues in the region; sufferers were often in too much pain to work, and lost their jobs accordingly.
"There are people around the world calling South Auckland the gout capital of the world."
A constant increase in the area's Pacific and Maori population was part of the reason for the epidemic, as those ethnic groups did not seem to have the gene which cleared uric acid out of the kidneys, Dr Gow said.
But lifestyle - gout is commonly a symptom of too much food and not enough exercise - and lack of education about the crippling condition were also major factors in its increasing prevalence, Dr Gow said.
Some foods, including shellfish, offal meats, beer and fructose, a common ingredient in fizzy drinks, were high in uric acid, he said.
With the condition most often occurring in a person's feet and hands, it took 400 South Aucklanders out of work each year, he said. Many people either did not know they had it, or did not understand the consequences of not getting it treated.
Gout could lead to diabetes and kidney failure if not treated promptly, Dr Gow said. But there were effective treatments which meant gout could be almost eliminated in most people.
