Binge-eating and lack of exercise during lockdown has triggered huge increase in gout

Once known as ‘the disease of kings’, figures show a sharp rise in hospitalizations for gout during lockdown due to overeating and lack of exercise.

The number of cases increased by 20% in three years, with 234,000 patients hospitalized for gout in 2021/22, NHS digital statistics show.

Obesity also increased significantly during the same period.

Experts say many people spent more time sitting during the coronavirus lockdown and may have eaten more snacks and junk food while working from home.

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis that causes sudden, severe joint pain.

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum told The Sunday Telegraph:

“Today’s Elizabethans eat and drink them all under the table.”

Hospitalizations for gout surge due to overeating and lack of exercise during lockdown

Gout is one of the oldest known diseases of mankind, and its origins can be traced back to the Egyptians.

Symptoms include sudden, severe joint pain. It is usually on the big toe, but can also be found on other joints of the foot, hand, wrist, elbow, or knee.

In some people, the skin in the affected joint may become hot, swollen, and red.

Too much uric acid in the body causes sodium urate crystals to deposit in and around the joints, causing pain and discomfort.

It can lead to excruciating pain, but if the pain and swelling do not improve, it can usually be treated with drugs such as ibuprofen or steroids.

But Fry warned that patients are not getting enough help from the NHS.

“Gout sufferers do not receive the care they need, and their appalling care is little different from that provided during the Dark Ages.

The NHS recommends maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, quitting smoking and eating a healthy diet to prevent recurrence of gout.