The gout myth

My GP diagnosed gout. Like many people, I associated it with Henry VIII and rich living. Not quite. Gout – which comes on suddenly, over a few hours and often during the night – is determined by how well the body manages the breakdown and excretion through the kidneys of DNA protein, otherwise known as purines. If it can't control this, the purines break down to produce higher than normal levels of uric acid. These then build up and form crystals, which gather in a joint, causing inflammation and acute pain.

As many as one in 100 people will experience this at some point, rising to five in 100 for men aged 65 and over. And with people now living longer, these figures are likely to increase. It's an illness more common in men than in women, who tend to have lower levels of uric acid in their blood. It's also a condition that recurs. According to the British Medical Association, around 60% of sufferers will have a second attack within a year, more than 75% within two years, and over 80% within three years. "Incidents of gout are increasing and constitute the most acute inflammation for between 1-2% of men in the western world," says Dr Ian Rowe, a consultant rheumatologist.