Japanese researchers concluded that the strongest association between smoking and rheumatoid arthritis occurred in men who were positive for rheumatoid factor. When parameters were limited to rheumatoid factor positive patients, men had double the odds ratio of women.
It was found that the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis was nearly double for current smokers compared to non-smokers. The risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis appeared lower for former smokers compared to current smokers but higher than for people who never smoked. Women who had stopped smoking at least 10 years prior to the start of the study did not have an increased risk.
Photo: BBC NewsResearchers are not certain why smoking increases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis for women. An interaction between smoking and the woman’s immune system and/or estrogen level has been suggested. It is thought that smoking may lower the level of estrogen. It has also been observed that smoking raises the level of rheumatoid factor in the body. Future studies will focus on determining the exact connection between smoking and rheumatoid arthritis.
A Finnish study of healthy people without rheumatoid arthritis also found that those who smoked were much more likely to have raised rheumatoid factor than those who didn’t smoke. These findings may show that smoking makes it more likely for people to get rheumatoid arthritis by inducing the rheumatoid factor. The people in the study are being followed up to see if they go on to develop RA.
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