Gout & Uric Acid Education Society Hosts Roundtable Exploring Strategies for Elevating the Severity of Gout and Improving Access to Public Education and Treatment
Consensus Paper and Resources Available at GoutEducation.org
Consensus Paper and Resources Available at GoutEducation.org
PITTSBURGH, Jan. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Extremely painful and destructive, gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis with elevated serum uric acid (sUA) a root cause of the disease. Even with the growing incidence of gout, recent research from the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society (GUAES) found that just 16 percent of Americans overall know the target sUA number for gout (6 mg/dL or below) – and just 38 percent of people with gout had their sUA levels checked within the past six months, the timeframe recommended by the American College of Rheumatology. Additionally, the majority of gout sufferers don't understand the importance of taking daily uric acid-lowering medications, with four in 10 incorrectly believing that they can stop taking medications when they aren't experiencing flares.
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Seeking to increase recognition of the severity of gout and need for routine sUA testing and management, GUAES hosted a professional roundtable discussion on October 3, 2015. The roundtable brought together several experts – rheumatologists, a family care physician, and representatives from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the National Kidney Foundation and CreakyJoints – to explore how to more effectively educate about gout and improve access to public education and treatment.
"Today's average gout patient will see multiple health professionals – not just for the treatment of gout, but oftentimes for connected health issues such as heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease or diabetes. This can result in conflicting education messages and treatment recommendations," said N. Lawrence Edwards, MD, rheumatologist and GUAES chairman. "We view this roundtable discussion as the first of many steps toward raising public awareness about the importance of knowing the target sUA number and taking action to keep levels in a healthy range, as well as an opportunity to encourage all medical professionals and organizations touched by gout to provide uniform and consistent messaging to patients."
During the roundtable, participants focused on two main areas:
Resulting discussions and strategies are overviewed in a consensus paper – Encouraging Patients to "Go for 6": Elevating the Severity of Gout and Improving Access to Public Education and Treatment – which is available through the professional portal of GoutEducation.org.
The paper is authored by the following medical professionals and organization representatives.
About GUAES & "Go for 6"
The Gout & Uric Acid Education Society is a nonprofit organization of health care professionals dedicated to educating the public and health care community about gout – the most common form of inflammatory arthritis – and the related consequences of hyperuricemia. The society's "Go for 6" public education campaign encourages those with gout to get their uric acid levels checked every six months, and aim for a healthy target of 6 mg/dL or below to avoid future flares and long-term damage. Additional information and resources are available at GoutEducation.org. Twitter: @GoutEducation Facebook: Gout Education
SOURCE The Gout & Uric Acid Education Society
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