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2012
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Long term alcohol intake and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women: a population based cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the association between alcohol intake and incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in women. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with repeated measurements. SETTING: The Swedish Mammography Cohort, a population based cohort from central Sweden. PARTICIPANTS : 34 141 women born between 1914 and 1948, followed up from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Newly diagnosed cases of rheumatoid arthritis identified by linkage with two Swedish national registers. Data on alcohol consumption were collected in 1987 and 1997. RESULTS: During the follow-up period (226 032 person years), 197 incident cases of rheumatoid arthritis were identified. There was a statistically significant 37% decrease in risk of rheumatoid arthritis among women who drank >4 glasses of alcohol (1 glass = 15 g of ethanol) per week compared with women who drank 3 glasses of alcohol per week in both 1987 and 1997 had a 52% decreased risk of rheumatoid arthritis compared with those who never drank (relative risk 0.48 (0.24 to 0.98)). CONCLUSION: Moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with reduced risk of rheumatoid Arthritis.

Additional Info

  • Authors

    Di Giuseppe D.; Alfredsson L.; Bottai M.; Askling J.; Wolk A.

  • Issue

    BMJ, page e4230, volume 345

  • Published Date

    2012

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