Men with a high body mass index may have lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis says new research

A high body mass index in men may reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, but the same cannot be said for women, according to new research published in Rheumatology.
Scientists in Sweden analysed data from 383 people, taken from two population-based health surveys with a total of 50,705 participants, and discovered there is a strong association between a high BMI in men and a lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. But the same association was not found in women.

After the results had been adjusted for smoking (which has been found to be negatively associated with obesity in men), men with a body mass index over 25kg/m2 were estimated to be 63% less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis in one study and 40% less likely in the other study.

When looking into why a high body mass index might reduce the risk of men developing rheumatoid arthritis, the scientists suggest that a high body mass index more often reflects increased abdominal obesity or visceral fat in men compared with women, which could be protective against the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

The team previously described a connection between high body mass index and hormones, where metabolic pathways related to the fat tissue and hormone-related factors could have a protective effect against rheumatoid arthritis.

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Image credit: Fimb