Men with rheumatoid arthritis who take low doses of methotrexate may be reassured by new research that shows they have no increased risk of negative pregnancy outcome. 

Methotrexate is associated with malformations in unborn children of women who take the drug. Published in Rheumatology, a study involving 113 pregnancies fathered by men who were treated with low-dose methotrexate around conception looked at incidence of major birth defects, spontaneous abortion, gestational age at delivery and birth weight. Continue reading →

Breastfeeding for a longer time is associated with a lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis, says research published in Rheumatology. And women who had breastfed are about half as likely to have rheumatoid arthritis compared to those who had never breastfed.

The study involved 7349 women in China aged at least 50 years. A questionnaire established that most women had at least one child, and of these, over 95% had breastfed for at least one month. Only 11% had used the contraceptive pill, and mostly for a short time. The average age of first pregnancy was 24 years and the average age of rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis was 47.5 years. Continue reading →