The risk of rheumatoid arthritis
is more in smokers with infrequent fish intake as compared to those with
frequent fish intake.
As per the findings of a
recently published paper in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders journal, the fish
intake solely not but its association with smoking linked to the risk of
rheumatoid arthritis.
Attempts are proceeding to identify risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Where smoking is an essential risk factor for RA, many individuals who never
smoked also develop RA, this indicates the involvement of other factors such as
diet and obesity as well. Other previous studies say that eating fish is a
protective approach for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk possibly due to the
anti-inflammatory influence of omega-3 fatty acid it contains, although this
association has not been established explicitly. Therefore, this prospective
cohort study was conducted with large sample size, repeated measures of dietary
intake, and extended follow-up to assess the fish intake and RA risk by the age
of onset, smoking and serologic status.
A total of 166,013 females from
two prospective cohorts, the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHSII were studied
for evaluating the fish intake and RA risk association. Food frequency
questionnaires were used to estimate the fish intake at baseline and every four
years. A medical record review was utilized to assess incident RA during
follow-up and serologic status. The estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95%
confidence intervals (CI) for fish intake frequency and RA was determined by
applying Pooled Cox Regression. The analysis also investigated the smoking-fish
synergy for RA risk.
One thousand eighty incident
patients of RA were identified during the 3,863,909 person-years of follow-up.
The enhanced intake of fish was not related to all RA or seronegative RA;
however, had risen risk for RA diagnosed > 55 years old. The HRs of frequent
fish intake (vs infrequent) for RA,
seronegative and seropositive RA among women ≤55 years old noticed to be
was 0.73, 0.55, and 0.85, respectively. Smokers with frequent fish intake showed
modest raised RA risk, and smokers with infrequent fish intake showed a highly
elevated risk for RA onset ≤55 years. No clear protective impact of marine
omega-3 fatty acid or fish intake was found on RA risk, overall or by serologic
status, however, infrequent consumption of fish with smoking led to the
elevated risk of RA.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord.
Association of fish intake and smoking with risk of rheumatoid arthritis and age of onset: a prospective cohort study.
Jeffrey A. Sparks et al.
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