Epidemiologic Study Findings Show Over 400 Percent Increase in Gout Patient Hospitalizations Since 1993
June 14 2017 - 9:00AM
Results from a new study to be presented tomorrow at the Annual
European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2017 show a 410 percent
increase in hospitalizations between 1993 and 2014 for people
living with gout in the United States. The study (Not Just a
Swollen Big Toe: Increasing All-Cause Hospitalizations in
Patients with Gout in the United States: 1993-2014; abstract
THU0409) included hospitalizations for any cause among patients
with a primary or secondary diagnosis of gout. Gout is a
chronic, progressive inflammatory arthritic condition caused by too
much uric acid in the body that, when left untreated, can lead to
serious joint and tissue damage.1 People living with gout
often have other health conditions such as kidney disease, heart
disease, stroke, hypertension or diabetes.2 Horizon Pharma provided
research support and funding for this study.
“We were surprised to find that all-cause hospitalization
increased almost 100 times more in patients with gout than in the
overall U.S. population during the last 22 years,” said Gurkirpal
Singh, M.D., lead study investigator and adjunct clinical professor
of medicine at Stanford University. “Improvements in medical
documentation and electronic medical records have helped us better
capture gout comorbidities over the last two decades, so this data
gives us a much more clear picture of the overall burden of gout –
one that has been significantly underestimated for too long.”
Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), a random sample of
all U.S. community hospitals, Dr. Singh and colleagues examined all
inpatient hospitalizations in the NIS from 1993 to 2014 with a
primary or secondary diagnosis of gout and compared them to total
all-cause (i.e., being hospitalized for any reason) U.S.
hospitalizations during the same period. The NIS is the only
U.S. national hospital database with information on all patients
regardless of payer, including persons covered by Medicare,
Medicaid, private insurance and the uninsured.
Results showed that all-cause hospitalizations in the general
U.S. population increased from 33.7 million in 1993 to 35.4 million
in 2014, an increase of 4.8 percent. In patients with
gout, all-cause hospitalizations increased from 167,441 in
1993 to 854,475 in 2014, a statistically significant
increase of 410 percent. In 2014, hospitalizations
in patients with gout resulted in a cost of more than $42.6
billion.
“We know that living with chronic, uncontrolled gout is
associated with life-altering pain and leads to other major health
issues, but the degree by which these patients are being
hospitalized is staggering,” said N. Lawrence Edwards, M.D.,
professor of medicine, division of clinical immunology at the
University of Florida in Gainesville and chairman of the Gout &
Uric Acid Education Society. “There is a significant lack of
awareness and understanding of gout that leads to under-diagnosis
and suboptimal management of patients, and this study shows a
dramatic burden on both patients and the U.S. healthcare system
overall during the last two decades.”
About GoutGout is a type of chronic
inflammatory arthritis where uric acid builds up in the blood and
can lead to severe pain and joint destruction, as well as the
manifestation of tophi (hard, uric acid deposits under the skin
that contribute to bone and cartilage destruction).1
According to the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society, more than
8.3 million Americans are living with gout – a number that has
increased sevenfold over the past five decades. Some people
with gout experience chronic uncontrolled gout.3 They
continue to have abnormally high levels of uric acid despite
conventional therapies.4
About Horizon Pharma plc Horizon Pharma plc is
a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by
identifying, developing, acquiring and commercializing
differentiated and accessible medicines that address unmet medical
needs. The Company markets 11 medicines through its orphan,
rheumatology and primary care business units. For more
information, please visit www.horizonpharma.com.
Follow @HZNPplc on Twitter or view careers on
our LinkedIn page.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to,
statements related to the impact of gout on patients and the
healthcare system and the need for improved gout management, and
other statements that are not historical facts. These
forward-looking statements are based on Horizon Pharma's current
expectations and inherently involve significant risks and
uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such forward looking
statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which
include, without limitation, risks related to gout impacting
patients and the healthcare system in a manner different from
historical trends and not as anticipated, as well as other risks
related to Horizon Pharma's business detailed from time-to-time
under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Horizon Pharma's
SEC filings and reports, including in its Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and subsequent quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q. Horizon Pharma undertakes no duty or
obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this press release as a result of new information, future events or
changes in its expectations.
References:
- Gout and Uric Acid Education Society. Take a Stand on Gout
Brochure. Web. June 9, 2017.
http://gouteducation.org/gout-education-kits/for-patients/assets/about-gout-patient-brochure.pdf
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. June 9, 2017.
https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/gout.html
- Gout and Uric Acid Education Society. Web. June 9, 2017.
http://gouteducation.org/
- Arthritis Foundation. Web. June 9, 2017.
http://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/types/gout/articles/chronic-gout.php
Contacts:Tina VenturaSenior Vice President,
Investor RelationsInvestor-relations@horizonpharma.com
Ruth VenningExecutive Director, Investor
RelationsInvestor-relations@horizonpharma.com
U.S. Media Contact:Matt FleschExecutive
Director, Product Communicationsmedia@horizonpharma.com
Ireland Media Contact:Ray GordonGordon
MRMray@gordonmrm.ie
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