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Investigating Asthma, Allergic Disease, Passive Smoke Exposure, and Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Author(s) -
Kronzer Vanessa L.,
Crowson Cynthia S.,
Sparks Jeffrey A.,
Vassallo Robert,
Davis John M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
arthritis and rheumatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.106
H-Index - 314
eISSN - 2326-5205
pISSN - 2326-5191
DOI - 10.1002/art.40858
Subject(s) - medicine , asthma , cohort , rheumatoid arthritis , odds ratio , passive smoking , cohort study , tobacco smoke , confidence interval , confounding , population , allergy , logistic regression , immunology , environmental health
Objective Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is postulated to originate at mucosal surfaces, particularly the airway mucosa. To investigate this hypothesis, we determined the association between RA and asthma, passive smoke exposure, and age at start of smoking. Methods For this case–control study, we identified 1,023 cases of RA (175 incident) within a single‐center biobank population, using a rules‐based algorithm that combined self‐report with 2 diagnostic codes. Exposures were self‐reported on biobank questionnaires. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the association of exposures with RA, adjusting for potential confounders. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. Results After adjustment for allergies, urban environment, and passive smoke exposure, asthma was found to be associated with RA in the full cohort (OR 1.28 [95% CI 1.04–1.58; P = 0.02]) but not the incident RA cohort (OR 1.17 [95% CI 0.66–2.06; P = 0.60]). History of allergic disease was associated with RA in both the full cohort (OR 1.30 [95% CI 1.12–1.51; P < 0.001]) and the incident RA cohort (OR 1.61 [95% CI 1.11–2.33; P = 0.01]), especially food allergy, which was significantly associated with RA in the full cohort (OR 1.38 [95% CI 1.08–1.75; P = 0.01]) and showed a trend toward significance in the incident RA cohort (OR 1.83 [95% CI 0.97–3.45; P = 0.06]). Passive smoke exposure at home or work was not associated with RA. Finally, age at start of smoking was not associated with increased odds of developing RA in either the full cohort (OR 1.03 [95% CI 1.00–1.06; P = 0.03]) or the incident RA cohort (OR 1.00 [95% CI 0.92–1.08; P = 0.98]). Conclusion Asthma and allergies may be associated with increased risk of RA. Passive smoke exposure and early age at start of smoking do not appear to influence risk of RA.