Tianjin Medical Journal ›› 2025, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (12): 1250-1257.doi: 10.11958/20252445

• Clinical Research • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis of the trends of gout disease burden in China from 1990 to 2021 and age-period-cohort model

ZHENG Jianhu(), GUO Ziyan, SUN Xudong, PAN Yaxin, WANG Anyu, SUN Weidong()   

  1. The Second Department of Orthopedics, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100020, China
  • Received:2025-07-08 Revised:2025-08-19 Published:2025-12-15 Online:2025-12-08
  • Contact: E-mail:sunweidong8239@aliyun.com

Abstract:

Objective To analyze the temporal trends of gout disezse burden in China from 1990 to 2021, and construct an age?period?cohort (APC) model to explore the independent effects of age, period, and birth cohort on epidemiological indicators, and predict the future burden of gout disease in China from 2022 to 2035. Methods Data on gout disease burden in China during 1990—2021 were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to assess temporal trends. The APC model was applied to evaluate the age, period and cohort effects on prevalence risk and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). A Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) model was employed to project the age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) and age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR) of gout in China from 2022 to 2035. Results From 1990 to 2021, the incidence, prevalence and DALYs of gout in China all increased substantially, with overall rising trends in the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), ASPR and ASDR. Compared with 1990, the incidence, prevalence and DALYs in 2021 increased by 160.45%, 181.12%, and 175.93%, respectively, while their age-standardized rates increased by 23.74%, 26.48% and 25.89%. Joinpoint regression analysis revealed that average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) of 0.73% for ASIR, 0.82% for ASPR and 0.80% for ASDR during 1990-2021. In 2021, the number of cases and DALYs reached their peaks in males aged 55-59 years and females aged 65-69 years. Both prevalence and DALY rates increased steadily with age, with marked rises starting at age 30 in men and age 40 in women. Overall, males showed higher prevalence, DALYs and corresponding rates than those of females across all age groups. APC model results indicated that the age effect, period effect and cohort effects on prevalence and DALY rates presented an overall upward tread. Decomposition analysis showed that population aging contributed the most to the increase in incidence and DALYs from 1990 to 2021. BAPC projections suggested that by 2035, the ASPR and ASDR of gout in China reached 890.50 per 100,000 and 27.26 per 100,000, respectively. Conclusion The ASPR and ASDR of gout in China are projected to continue increasing from 2022 to 2035. Targeted public health strategies for high-risk populations are urgently needed to reduce the growing burden of gout.

Key words: gout, global burden of disease, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, joinpoint regression analysis, age-period-cohort model

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