Cohort studycited by the Tayebat archiveabstract only checked A-SOD-06 standard review
Soft drinks and gout in men
Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study.
Overview
Choi HK, Curhan G. BMJ 2008 · PMID 18244959 · DOI 10.1136/bmj.39449.819271.BE
Two or more sugary sodas a day: 85% higher gout risk; fruit juice also linked; diet soda not.
Does the study support the specific claim? Yes · Methodological quality: moderate
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Are sugar-sweetened soft drinks and fructose associated with incident gout in men?
- How was the study done?
Prospective cohort over 12 years (HPFS); validated FFQs.
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
46,393; 755 incident gout cases; Male health professionals without gout
- What was actually found?
SSB 5-6/week RR 1.29 (1.00-1.68); 1/day 1.45 (1.02-2.08); >=2/day 1.85 (1.08-3.16); diet soft drinks not associated; fructose top fifth RR 2.02 (1.49-2.75); fruit juice and fructose-rich fruits also associated (P trend <0.05).
- How large was the observed effect?
RR 1.85 (1.08-3.16)
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Sugary drinks and juices may raise gout risk.
- What are the study's limitations?
Men health professionals only; Wide CI at highest intake; Observational design; residual confounding possible; Self-reported dietary intake
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
Moderate.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Effect in women; causation.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Choi HK, Curhan G
- Journal
- BMJ
- Year
- 2008
- Identifier
- PMID 18244959 DOI 10.1136/bmj.39449.819271.BE · PMC2234536
- Verification
- verified – PubMed E-utilities efetch, 2026-10-25
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
Competing interests: none declared; NIH grants
2. Research question
Are sugar-sweetened soft drinks and fructose associated with incident gout in men?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Cohort study – Prospective cohort over 12 years (HPFS); validated FFQs.
- Population
Male health professionals without gout
- Country
USA
- Period
12 years
- Sample size
46,393; 755 incident gout cases
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
No history of gout at baseline
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
SSB and fructose intake
- Comparator
<1 serving/month; lowest fifth of fructose
- Endpoints
Incident gout (ACR criteria)
- Statistical methods
Multivariate RR
5. Actual results
- Results
SSB 5-6/week RR 1.29 (1.00-1.68); 1/day 1.45 (1.02-2.08); >=2/day 1.85 (1.08-3.16); diet soft drinks not associated; fructose top fifth RR 2.02 (1.49-2.75); fruit juice and fructose-rich fruits also associated (P trend <0.05).
- Absolute risks
not reported
- Authors' conclusion
SSB and fructose consumption strongly associated with increased gout risk in men; fructose-rich fruits and juices may also increase risk; diet soft drinks not associated.
6. Strengths
- Prospective
- Validated outcome criteria
- Dose-response
7. Weaknesses
- Men health professionals only
- Wide CI at highest intake
- Observational design; residual confounding possible
- Self-reported dietary intake
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- ROBINS-E
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- some concerns
- Rationale
Confounding possible.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
RR 1.85 with CI 1.08-3.16: imprecise; 'doubling' is at the upper end.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Supports C-SOD-05; relevant to C-SUG-06 (juice).
11. Independent contrary findings
None contradicting.
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
Moderate.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Good-quality cohort; specific to men.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | moderate |
| Risk of bias | some concerns |
| Precision of results | moderate |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | partly replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | moderate |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | essentially correct but incomplete |
14. Open questions
Women, other populations.
15. Linked fact checks
- Two sugary sodas a day double the risk of gout in men. – Studies supporting the claim
- Implicit in the system's lists: sugar-cane juice, canned juices, honey, jam and sweets are acceptable while sugar-sweetened soft drinks are harmful. – Studies contradicting or limiting the claim
Use by the Tayebat archive
Note: according to the archive, the studies were compiled by the archive operators. Whether Dr. Elawady himself cited this study is not established.
- What the archive says about the study
(Narrative) Choi and Curhan found that two daily sugary sodas double the risk of gout in men.
- A. What was actually studied?
SSB/fructose and gout.
- B. What did the authors find?
RR 1.85 for >=2/day.
- C. What conclusions do the authors themselves draw?
SSB and fructose associated with gout; juice and fruit may also raise risk; diet drinks not.
- D. What does the archive derive from it?
'Double' and a causal link via fructose ('that is why').
- E. Is this derivation scientifically justified?
Rounded upward; omits that fruit juice and fruits were also associated and that diet drinks were not, which bears on the system's juice allowance and the diet-soda claim.
- Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive)
- essentially correct but incomplete