REVIEW ON DIAGNOSIS & MANAGEMENT OF GOUT IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

With a countrywide incidence of 2.5% in the adult population, gout is the most prevalent inflammatory joint disease affecting men over 40 in the UK. Prevalences are similar in other industrialized nations, including the US and New Zealand. Monosodium Urate (MSU) crystals occur and are deposited in joints, most frequently the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP), as a result of the hyperuricemia that causes gout. Most gout patients in the UK are treated exclusively in primary care. To ensure that care is provided in accordance with need, it is critical to assess the socioeconomic status (SES) of a community afflicted by a condition. Being from a lower SES group is linked to more GP visits and worse health, according to numerous studies on social disadvantage and health consequences. Some of these studies have been conducted at the neighborhood and individual levels to determine whether any associations are caused by characteristics specific to the community or the patients.