A study published in "Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics" showed that early onset or a long history of gout was linked to a lower chance of developing cognitive decline in later life. Researchers aimed to investigate the association between midlife gout and the subsequent chance of cognitive impairment. The Singapore Chinese Health Study cohort provided data from 16,948 individuals. Subjects were enrolled from 1993 to 1998 at a mean age of fifty-three years.

Volunteers were contacted again for 3 follow-up interviews between 1999 and 2004 for 1st follow-up, 2006 to 2010 for 2nd follow-up, and 2014 to 2016 for 3rd follow-up. At follow-ups 1 and 2, participants self-reported any history of doctor-diagnosed gout, and at follow-up 3, when participants had a mean age of 73.2 years, Singapore adapted Mini-Mental State Examination was used to evaluate cognitive performance. At either follow-up 1 or 2, 7.6% (n = 1281) individuals reported having gout, and at follow-up 3, 14.4% (n = 2243) participants had a cognitive decline.

Gout experience was linked to a lower chance of cognitive decline (Odds ratio [OR] 0.78). In a stepwise manner, the risk of cognitive disability was decreased with either raised duration of gout or lower age at the 1st gout diagnosis. In comparison to people without gout, those who had gout for 20 years or more (OR 0.56), as well as those with the age of onset of gout less than 50 years (OR 0.59), had a reduced risk of cognitive decline. Thus, a reduced chance of cognitive impairment in old age was linked to early onset or a long gout history.