What healthy kidneys do for you
The kidneys do many things for the body, including acting as a filter to get rid of toxins, extra fluid, and waste.1 Each day, healthy kidneys filter around 180 liters of blood (that’s nearly 50 gallons!) to keep what the body needs and get rid of the things it doesn’t. This includes removing extra uric acid, which can build up and lead to gout.2
While it’s possible for diet, genetics, and some health conditions to cause your body to produce too much uric acid, most people with gout have it because their kidneys are not removing enough uric acid.2-4
Gout and chronic kidney disease (CKD)
It has been shown that gout and CKD are closely linked:
1 in 4 adults with moderate to severe CKD has gout.5
It’s 10 times more likely for a person with moderate to severe CKD to have gout than it is for someone without CKD.5
Kidney disease can cause gout. When you have kidney disease, it is more difficult for your kidneys to get rid of uric acid.5
Gout can lead to kidney disease. People with gout and high levels of uric acid in their blood have been shown to have a 43% higher risk of CKD than those who had lower levels of uric acid.6
