An increase in the number of cases of the painful joint condition gout is being blamed on sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
A new study has revealed that men who consume two or more soft drinks a day are 85% more likely to develop gout.
In the long term study, more than 51,000 dentists, pharmacists and veterinarians aged 40 years or more, filled in questionnaires on their health, weight, medications and diet.
They then updated the information every two years.
Those who were already diagnosed with gout and those who could not be contacted for the follow-up were taken out of the analysis, leaving more than 46,000 volunteers.
A total of 755 new cases of gout were diagnosed during the 12-year span of the study, which was launched in 1986.
The risk of the disease increased in line with the intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
The risk was proportionately higher among drinks containing fructose as a sweetener rather than sugar.
The study also found an increased risk of gout among those who consumed large quantities of fruit or fruit juice containing naturally occurring fructose, such as apples and oranges.
But it was stressed that the risk had to be balanced by the known health benefits of fruit.
Gout happens when excess uric acid builds up in the blood, causing uric acid crystals to form around the joints, inflicting extreme pain and swelling.
Cases of gout have doubled in the past few decades, coinciding with a rise in soft-drink consumption.
