28 October 2013 (13:50 UTC-07 Tango)/23 Dhu’l-Hijja 1434/06 Aban 1391/24 Ren-Xu (9th month) 4711

“Most of the papers discussing gout in Maori talk about gout as if it is a disease primarily related to transitions to modern lifestyles and the adoption of a Westernised diet such as soft drinks, alcohol and highly processed foods.”–Anna Gosling, University of Otago, New Zealand

Researchers in New Zealand decided to put that claim to the test, and exhumed skeletons of Maori who lived and died before European arrived.  The skeletal evidence showed Pacific islanders suffered from gout and other joint problems prior to being forced to adopt European diets.

Gosling concluded that joint problems are probably genetic: “The prehistoric presence of gout has implications in our understanding of the risk of disease, and wider recognition of this would allow better focus on the range of factors contributing to gout in Māori, including inherited genetic variants.”