Researchers from the UK’s University of Nottingham and colleagues conducted a new study of the population of Taiwan, where there is a high rate of gout, and found that the condition clusters in families.

The risk of developing gout was largely linked to shared modifiable factors, such as lifestyle and diet, while having close relatives with the disease also appeared to increase the risk, but to a lesser extent.

They write about their findings in a recent online issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis, characterized by acute pain that happens with no warning, and swelling in the affected joint – most commonly in the big toe. It is often accompanied by lumps around the joint and can lead to disability and loss of joint function.

There is also evidence that gout is linked with heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.

The disease is caused by deposits of monosodium urate crystals, due to there being too much uric acid in the blood.