Heavy smoking can lead to rheumatoid arthritis
People who smoke heavily have a much higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis than non-smokers, according to new research.
People who had smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day for 40 years were 13 times more likely to develop the condition, say doctors at the Rheumatology Research Group at University Hospital, Aintree. Their study was published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
The team looked at 239 patients with RA and 239 healthy people. Those identified as having a family history of disease were less likely to be heavy smokers, leading the team to believe there are two factors in the development of RA - genetic and environmental - such as smoking.
Deborah Symmons, Professor of Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Epidemiology at the ARC Epidemiology Unit in Manchester said the Liverpool study built on the findings of an ARC research team four years ago - and was even more conclusive.
"We found in a study of 180 people in Norfolk that people who smoked were two to three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who didn't - the Liverpool study puts it at 13 times higher," said
"That difference could be explained by the fact we took people at the start of their disease whereas the Liverpool study took people who were already attending hospital so probably had more advanced disease."
The study takes our knowledge just that bit further, and builds up an even stronger case against smoking and its association with rheumatoid arthritis."
