Table 1 Baseline characteristics of study population stratified by the presence/absence of gout

Age

58.5 ± 5.8

59.0 ± 5.8

0.0829

Body mass index (kg/m²)

24.2 ± 3.1

24.8 ± 3.3

0.1813

  < 18.5

17,726 (1.8)

781 (1.2)

0.0440

 18.5–23

350,304 (34.6)

18,395 (28.7)

0.1268

 23–25

272,058 (26.8)

16,682 (26.0)

0.0188

 25–30

329,416 (32.5)

24,088 (37.6)

0.1063

  ≥ 30

42,822 (4.2)

4106 (6.4)

0.0973

Smoking

 Never

975,659 (96.4)

61,100 (95.4)

0.0497

 Ex-smoker

10,389 (1.0)

790 (1.2)

0.0196

 Current smoker

26,278 (2.6)

2162 (3.4)

0.0458

Alcohol consumption

 None

874,134 (86.4)

55,078 (86.0)

0.0104

 Mild (< 30 g/day)

132,404 (13.1)

8497 (13.3)

0.0055

 Heavy (≥30 g/day)

5788 (0.6)

477 (0.7)

0.0214

Regular exercise

201,742 (19.9)

12,626 (19.7)

0.0054

 Hypertension

410,364 (40.5)

31,386 (49.0)

0.1708

 Diabetes mellitus

114,463 (11.3)

10,568 (16.5)

0.1505

 Hyperlipidemia

338,200 (33.4)

25,238 (39.4)

0.1248

 Chronic kidney disease

89,624 (8.9)

8226 (12.8)

0.1286

Creatinine (mg/dL)

0.87 ± 0.86

0.90 ± 0.90

0.0356

Estimated GFR (mL/min/1.73 m²)

83.4 ± 26.8

81.3 ± 27.3

0.0754

Income (quartile)

 Q1 (lowest)

241,520 (23.9)

15,594 (24.4)

0.0114

 Q2

196,934 (19.5)

12,646 (19.7)

0.0073

 Q3

258,906 (25.6)

16,797 (26.2)

0.0148

 Q4 (highest)

314,966 (31.1)

19,015 (29.7)

0.0310

Age at menarche (years)

16.3 ± 1.8

16.4 ± 1.8

0.0376

  ≤ 12

11,212 (1.1)

635 (1.0)

0.0114

 13–14

137,691 (13.6)

8329 (13.0)

0.0176

 15–16

405,514 (40.1)

24,984 (39.0)

0.0215

  > 16

457,909 (45.2)

30,104 (47.0)

0.0354

Age at menopause (years)

50.2 ± 3.9

50.2 ± 4.0

0.0171

  < 40

14,663 (1.5)

1091 (1.7)

0.0205

 40–44

50,330 (5.0)

3412 (5.3)

0.0161

 45–49

273,603 (27.0)

17,389 (27.2)

0.0027

 50–54

562,497 (55.6)

34,968 (54.6)

0.0195

  ≥ 55

111,233 (11.0)

7192 (11.2)

0.0077

Reproductive span (years)

33.9 ± 4.2

33.7 ± 4.4

0.0318

  < 30

121,110 (12.0)

8259 (12.9)

0.0282

 30–34

409,702 (4057)

26,066 (40.7)

0.0046

 35–39

413,718 (40.9)

25,375 (39.6)

0.0255

  ≥ 40

67,796 (6.7)

4352 (6.8)

0.0039

Oral contraceptives (years)

 Never

842,604 (83.2)

52,498 (82.0)

0.0336

  < 1

103,252 (10.2)

6846 (10.7)

0.0160

  ≥ 1

66,470 (6.6)

4708 (7.4)

0.0308

Hormone replacement therapy (years)

 Never

826,017 (81.6)

51,071 (79.7)

0.0472

  < 2

108,676 (10.7)

7508 (11.7)

0.0313

 2–5

44,509 (4.4)

3075 (4.8)

0.0193

  ≥ 5

33,124 (3.3)

2398 (3.7)

0.0256

Parity

 0 children

26,722 (2.6)

1700 (2.7)

0.0098

 1 child

69,017 (6.8)

4210 (6.6)

0.0079

  ≥ 2 children

916,587 (90.5)

58,142 (90.8)

0.0009

Breastfeeding (months)

 Never

74,885 (7.4)

4619 (7.2)

0.0383

  < 6

74,108 (7.3)

4070 (6.4)

0.0273

 6–12

187,857 (18.6)

11,213 (17.5)

0.0472

  ≥ 12

675,476 (66.7)

44,150 (68.9)

0.0072