Interesting story from New Zealand discussing the possibility that high rates of gout in Pacific Islanders may be a genetic trait passed to them by ancient voyagers across the

Pacific Ocean. 

Dr. Hallie Buckley, from

Otago University’s Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, has been studying bones from the oldest cemetery found in the

Pacific Islands. These remains are estimated to be 3000 to 3200 years old and were discovered on

Efate Island in

Vanuatu. 

Dr. Hallie’s team examined the bones from 20 skeletons using radiography and other techniques and found damage to the joints in seven of them. Analysis of the damage, or erosive lesions, indicated that they were most likely caused by gouty arthritis, a build up of uric acid crystals in the joints. 

The skeletons that were studied were from a people known as “Lapita”. They were named for the distinctive decorated pottery that has been found across the Pacific. 

The Lapita’s diet would have consisted of plants and seafood, a diet that is rich in purines which are organic compounds that are a crucial part of DNA and RNA. This high purine diet may have set off attacks of gout in people that are susceptible. 

There are scientists that have theorized that as the descendents of the Lapita people migrated across the Pacific they passed their genetic predisposition to gout on to their descendents. This is known as the “founder effect”, where a small number of people pass a genetic trait on to a large number of descendents. This could explain the high incidence of high uric acid levels and gout in many modern

Pacific Island societies. The Maori of New Zealand have an incidence of gout of over 10%. 

Dr. Hallie’s research was published in the publication Current Anthropolgy.