TikTok’s gout advice is everywhere and doctors say it’s often wrong

Gout is a painful form of inflammatory arthritis caused by excess urate in the blood. When urate levels rise too high, crystals can form and collect in the joints, leading to intense pain and swelling. Around forty-one million people worldwide are affected by gout, and doctors diagnose roughly seven million new cases each year.

Despite how common the condition is, understanding of gout remains limited among both patients and the general public. Medical guidelines from rheumatology organizations recommend long-term urate-lowering therapy as the most effective way to manage gout. Even so, many patients do not have their condition well controlled.

Social Media's Growing Role in Health Information

Social media is nearly universal, with about 98% of people aged 12 years or older using at least one platform. People living with health conditions are especially active, with 52% sharing health-related information online. TikTok stands out because of its massive reach, with 1.2 billion users worldwide and a strong influence on how people form beliefs and make health decisions.

In one survey of 1,172 women aged 18 to 29 years, roughly 70% said they deliberately searched for health information on TikTok. An even larger share, 92%, reported encountering health content there without actively looking for it.

How Researchers Analyzed Gout Content on TikTok

To better understand what users are seeing, researchers searched for the term "gout" on TikTok's discover page and reviewed the first two hundred videos that appeared on December 5, 2024. The most common presenters were people living with gout or their close family members (27%). Health professionals accounted for 24% of the videos, while members of the general public made up 23%.

The videos had different goals. About 38% aimed to offer health advice, 20% focused on sharing personal experiences with gout, and 19% were designed to promote or sell products.

Diet and Supplements Dominate Gout Advice

Nearly half of the videos, about 45%, mentioned risk factors for gout, most often pointing to diet and lifestyle choices (90%). A much larger share, 79%, discussed ways to manage gout, with dietary guidance taking center stage.

Some videos listed foods to avoid. One example featured a patient hospitalized for gout who told viewers that they "can reduce your incidences of gout if you cut back on your salt, your alcohol, and your red meat." Many videos also promoted supplements, herbal products, or home remedies, including items marketed as "pills made from pure herbs, with no hormones and no side effects."

Proven Medical Treatments Rarely Mentioned

Very few videos addressed prescription medications. Only seven discussed drug-based treatment for gout, and these usually focused on short-term pain relief such as steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like colchicine, ibuprofen, and naproxen.

Even more striking, just two videos mentioned long-term urate-lowering therapy. This approach is considered the standard, evidence-based treatment for gout and is strongly recommended by rheumatologists.

Why This Can Lead to Harmful Misconceptions

Overall, the researchers found that many TikTok videos lacked accurate explanations of how urate is produced in the body and what truly drives gout risk. Gout was often portrayed as a condition caused mainly by food choices that raise urate levels.

While diet and alcohol do influence gout risk, other factors play a much larger role. Genetics, kidney function, and body weight have a greater impact on whether someone develops gout. When content focuses only on lifestyle factors, it can frame gout as a personal failure rather than a medical condition rooted in underlying biology.

A Missed Opportunity for Evidence-Based Care

The study's authors stress that most TikTok videos about gout management promote advice that does not align with established clinical guidelines. Although 79% of the videos discussed managing gout, dietary changes were the most common recommendation (53%), even though they offer limited long-term benefit on their own.

Herbal remedies and supplements were also widespread, with some videos selling products and using imagery that suggested medical authority.

Using Social Media to Fight Misinformation

"TikTok has great potential as a tool to raise awareness around health issues such as gout and promote information that aligns with clinical guidelines," said the paper's lead author, Samuela 'Ofanoa. "In an increasingly digital world, there is a need for more health professionals and organizations to seize the opportunity that social media platforms present, and create content that can counter misinformation and improve understanding about gout in our communities."