What increases your chances for gout?
The following make it more likely that you will develop hyperuricemia, which causes gout:
Being male
Being obese
Having certain health conditions, including:
Congestive heart failure
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Insulin resistance
Metabolic syndrome
Diabetes
Poor kidney function
Using certain medications, such as diuretics (water pills).
Drinking alcohol. The risk of gout is greater as alcohol intake goes up.
Eating or drinking food and drinks high in fructose (a type of sugar).
Having a diet high in purines, which the body breaks down into uric acid. Purine-rich foods include red meat, organ meat, and some kinds of seafood, such as anchovies, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout, and tuna.