A research team at Yonsei University College of Medicine has found smoking both cigarettes and e-cigarettes can increase the risk of gout, an arthritis caused by excessive buildup of uric acid in the body.

The research team, led by Professor Park Eun-cheol of the Department of Preventive Medicine, concluded so after analyzing the association between smoking status and blood uric acid concentration among 27,013 adults aged 19 years and older -- 11,924 men and 15,089 women -- who participated in the 2016-2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Park's team divided the participants into four groups – dual smokers (cigarette and e-cigarette), smokers who smoked either cigarette or e-cigarette, those that quit smoking, and non-smokers.

As a result of the study, the team found that men who were dual smokers were 1.4 times more likely to have high blood uric acid levels than men who never smoked.

Notably, men who smoked 20 or more packs of cigarettes and e-cigarettes per year had 1.8 times the risk of having high blood uric acid levels as men who never smoked.

Women who smoked either cigarettes or e-cigarettes had 1.7 times the risk of having high blood uric acid levels as women who never smoked.

However, the team was unable to determine why smoking increases blood uric acid levels.

"Dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes may contribute to high blood uric acid levels in adults," Professor Park said. "To prevent gout, it is important to properly manage blood uric acid levels by quitting smoking."

The findings were published in a recent issue of Plos ONE.