RESEARCH - Smoking is a strong risk factor for RA nodules in early RA

[Guest guest]

Ann Rheum Dis. 2006 May;65(5):601-6. Epub 2005 Sep 15.

Smoking is a strong risk factor for rheumatoid nodules in early rheumatoid

arthritis.

Nyhall-Wahlin BM, sson LT, sson IF, Turesson C; BARFOT study

group.

Department of Rheumatology, Falun Hospital, SE-791 82 Falun, Sweden.

britt-marie.nyhall-wahlin@...

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether smoking is a risk factor for rheumatoid

nodules in early rheumatoid arthritis, and if so to determine the

quantitative effect of smoking. METHODS: From a cohort (n = 1589) in a

structured programme for follow up of newly diagnosed cases of rheumatoid

arthritis (symptoms of swollen joints < or =12 months), 112 individuals with

rheumatoid nodules at inclusion were identified. Nodular patients were each

compared with two age and sex matched controls without nodules from the same

cohort. A detailed self administered tobacco use questionnaire was answered

by 210 patients (63%). RESULTS: Seventy patients were current smokers, 71

former smokers, and 69 had never smoked. Current smoking and former smoking

were more common in patients with rheumatoid nodules compared with controls

(86% v 59%) in both sexes. Positive rheumatoid factor (RF) was found more

often among cases with nodules than controls (78% v 64%). Using detailed

information from the questionnaires with conditional logistic regression

analyses, ever having smoked was associated with an increased risk of the

presence of rheumatoid nodules (odds ratio (OR) = 7.3 (95% confidence

interval, 2.3 to 23.6); p = 0.001). The risk of having nodules was not

obviously dose dependent when smoking duration as well as smoking amount

were examined. A stratified analysis showed that only RF positive smokers

had an increased risk of rheumatoid nodules. Smoking was associated with

rheumatoid nodules among both men (p = 0.006) and women (p = 0.001). Tobacco

use other than smoking (n = 31) was not associated with an increased risk of

nodules (OR = 0.8 (0.2 to 3.4); p = 0.813).

CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong association between smoking and rheumatoid

nodules in early seropositive rheumatoid arthritis.

PMID: 16166104

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed & cmd=Retrieve & dopt=Abstra\

ct & list_uids=16166104

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org