High prevalence of gouty arthritis among the Hmong population in Minnesota

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of gout is on the rise worldwide, especially among newly industrialized populations. We evaluated the prevalence of gout in the recently established Hmong of Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) compared with that in non-Hmong populations. METHODS: The prevalence of self-reported gout in the Hmong population was estimated from 2 cross-sectional community surveys and compared with national data extrapolated from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed gout in Hmong and non-Hmong MSP residents was separately estimated from the diagnosis codes of 11 MSP primary care clinics. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported gout among MSP Hmong was 2-fold higher than in the general US population (6.5% versus 2.9%; P