Posted on January 4, 2008 in Arthritis Basics
Everyone is aware of health dangers associated with smoking. According to the latest research, smoking is also responsible for developing Rheumatoid Arthritis. Chances of smokers to develop RA are higher when compared to ex-smokers and non-smokers.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a joint disease and smoking basically is nicotine addiction…….. Do you find any relation between them? No, you might say that there are other health problems caused due to smoking. But the recent research shows that there is a link between arthritis and smoking. The research study found that the concentration of rheumatoid factor was higher in case of smoking rheumatoid arthritis patients.
In RA, your immune system gets weaken and it affects your joints, especially feet and hands. RA is characterized by inflammation, pain, stiffness and in severe cases it results in deformity. It is observed that RA is more common among women as compared to men. There are many reasons like genetic factors, environmental factor or Rheumatoid Factor (RF) responsible for the development of the RA. RF is an autoantibody present in the blood of rheumatoid arthritic patients. With the increase in concentration of RF in blood, the severity of RA also increases.
The Real Link RA and Smoking
According to the research study smoking rheumatoid arthritic people are more likely to be RF positive. The study also states that the concentration of RF is higher in case of RA people who smoked for longer. As told before higher concentration means severe RA. The research showed that the damage caused to the body by RA was severe in case of people who smoked for more than 20 years.
Another research study was conducted on people who smoked but did not suffer from RA. They found that even they had high concentration of RF in blood as compared to non smokers. The research finding suggests that smoking increases the probability of developing RA by increasing the RF concentration. Researchers are keeping a track of people on whom research was conducted to check whether they develop RA.
Other Factors Responsible for RA
Researchers are unable to understand the effect of smoking on RA completely. They agree on this fact that smoking has an adverse impact on the sex hormones and immune system. It has been observed that smokers have abnormal White Blood Cells (WBC). These cells are the key component in protecting body from inflammations and infection. Hence researchers concluded that there are numerous factors related to smoking that might contribute in the development of RA. There are various genetic factors which interact with various environmental factors to cause RA.
Risk for Smokers
Still the exact mechanism for the relation of RA and smoking is unknown, but researchers are sure about the connection between two of them. Research study indicates that the chances of RA in smoking women are twice as compared to non-smoking women. It also indicates that the chances of RA development in ex-smokers are lower as compared to current smokers but higher when compared to people who never smoked.
If you are a smokers, say ‘good bye’ to smoking and reduce the chances of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis.
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