The epidemiology of gout and hyperuricemia in a rural population of Java.

The prevalence of gout and hyperuricemia was investigated by a survey of a total population of 4683 rural adults. The successful response rate was 95.2%. Of the respondents 85.3% of the individuals were examined. The prevalence of gout and hyperuricemia in men was 1.7 and 24.3%, respectively. The male to female ratio was 34:1 for gout and 2:1 for hyperuricemia. The observed higher prevalence of gout and hyperuricemia in this male Malayo-Polynesian population compared with Caucasian data, in spite of a lower life expectancy and subsistence economy, suggests that genetic and racial predisposition are key causative factors.