Diuretic medications (water pills)
Drinking too much alcohol
Genetics (inherited tendencies)
Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
Immune-suppressing drugs
Niacin, or vitamin B-3
Obesity
Psoriasis
Purine-rich diet — liver, game meat, anchovies, sardines, gravy, dried beans and peas, mushrooms, and other foods
Renal insufficiency — inability of the kidneys to filter waste
Tumor lysis syndrome — a rapid release of cells into the blood caused by certain cancers or by chemotherapy for those cancers