Characterizing Metabolic Signatures of Air Pollution and Their Association With the Risk of Gout: A Population‐Based Cohort Study
Authors' conclusion
Our study indicated that air pollutants and metabolic signatures were associated with elevated gout risk, with metabolomic signatures playing a mediating role in the air pollutants-gout relationship.
Study context
- Population
- Gout-free participants from a large cohort study; annual average air pollutant concentrations estimated at residential address2,474 incident gout cases
- Participants
- 207,908 participants
- Exposure
- Air pollution-related metabolic signatures and air pollutant exposure (PM2.5, particulate matter (PM10), NO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx)) vs gout risk
- Outcome
- Incident gout
Methodological detailspopulation-based, elastic net regression, Cox regression, mediation analyses
- Population-based
- Elastic net regression
- Cox regression
- Mediation analyses
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incident gout per air pollution-related metabolic signature · median follow-up 12.56 years
Hazard ratio (95% CI)
PM2.5
1.10(1.05–1.14)
PM10
1.12(1.08–1.17)
NO2
1.09(1.04–1.13)
NOx
1.11(1.06–1.15)
Per air pollution-related metabolic signature, as printed
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Increased gout risk per-IQR increase in air pollutant
- PM2.5
- 17%
- PM10
- 15%
- NO2
- 6%
- NOx
- 6%
Proportion of air pollutant-gout association mediated by metabolic signatures
- PM2.5
- 2.36%
- NOx
- 4.30%
- Range from 2.36% for PM2.5 to 4.30% for NOx
Original publication
Characterizing Metabolic Signatures of Air Pollution and Their Association With the Risk of Gout: A Population‐Based Cohort Study. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Published 18 February 2026. doi:10.
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