Hyperuricemia, Gout, and the Executive Suite

Abstract

Eight pairs of adult brothers (in one instance, actually first cousins raised together), all with family histories of gout and therefore likely to have hyperuricemia, were examined for possible correlations between achievement-related variables and relative serum uric acid (SUA) levels within each pair. Manifest achievement, achievement orientation, and achievement drive did not reliably predict which brother in each pair possessed the higher SUA level. However, when the variable of obesitydietary content was employed, significant predictive success was attained. Obesity did not correlate with achievement drive. However, the tonic and phasic eating histories of our subjects do suggest a possible explanation for the previous reports of a correlation between SUA level and such achievement-related variables.