Smoking doubles risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women

 The risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women is more than doubled if she smokes – even just a few cigarettes a day – highlights research published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Records of 34,000 women aged between 54 years and 89 years were examined; 219 women had rheumatoid arthritis. The scientists found that:

·         – Even light smoking is linked to an elevated risk of rheumatoid arthritis

·         – The risk more than doubles if a person smokes one to seven cigarettes a day

·         – Length of smoking time increases the probability of developing rheumatoid arthritis

·       – If a person quits smoking the likelihood of rheumatoid arthritis reduces over time, but even 15 years after stopping it is still higher.

“Stopping smoking is important for many health reasons, including the increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis for smokers,” says lead researcher Dr Daniela Di Giuseppe. “But the clearly increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, even many years after giving up, is another reason to stop smoking as soon as possible, and highlight the importance of persuading women not to start at all.”

Further research needs to include data from men of all ages and younger women – and information from more people who have given up smoking.