Reduced consumption of alcohol associated with early arthritis

 People who develop early arthritis (of any type) tend to drink less alcohol than control populations, reports a paper published in Rheumatology.

A total of 992 people who had had rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, reactive arthritis, spondylarthritis or psoriatic arthritis for two years or less were compared with 5,868 people without arthritis.

All answered questions about their alcohol consumption. Results showed that 83% of the controls drank alcohol compared to 53%-68% of people with arthritis. The relationship was strongest in those with rheumatoid arthritis. There was no dose-response relationship and no association between alcohol and the rate of joint destruction when examined over seven years.

“Our findings can be interpreted in several ways,” says Diane van der Woude who was involved in the research. “One hypothesis might be that alcohol may suppress both the innate and adaptive immune system leading to a decrease of joint inflammation, as has been suggested by some previous studies.

“Another possible explanation for our findings is that people with arthritis drink less alcohol due to their illness. This explanation seems probable since we observed a relationship between alcohol and the level of inflammation.”

Although the study had limitations, the findings shed new light on the interesting association between alcohol consumption and arthritis.