Regional variations identified in US women's rheumatoid arthritis risks

A new piece of research has shown that there are surprising regional differences in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) incidence rates in the US.

The study was carried out by a team from Brigham and Women's Hospital and was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

During the trial, the team analysed data for 83,456 participants in the Nurses' Health Study.

It was found that women who were from the south-west of the US and those from New England were far more likely to suffer from RA than women born in the west of the country.

In addition, it was shown that women born in the east typically developed RA at the age of 57.6, while people from the west contracted the condition on average three years later.

As a result, Dr Karen Costenbader and the rest of the team concluded: "In this large cohort of US women, significant geographic variation in incident RA existed after controlling for confounders.

"Potential explanations include regional variation in behavioural factors, climate, environmental exposures, RA diagnosis, and genetic factors."

Recent related stories:

MRI 'assesses bone erosion effectively'
04 December 2008
Young alcoholic men 'have increased osteoporosis risk'
03 December 2008
New osteoporosis screening method trialled
03 December 2008
Prednisolone 'maintains bone density in rheumatoid arthritis patients' hips'
02 December 2008
Rheumatoid patients 'have increased risk of death caused by heart disease'
02 December 2008
Rituximab re-treatment 'not effective for rheumatoid arthritis patients'
02 December 2008
Hip, knee replacement 'increases risk of joint infections in rheumatoid arthritis patients'
02 December 2008

Want to know more?