Smoking--a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis development
Christensen, A.F.; Lindegaard, H.M.; Junker, P.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 170(37): 2864-2869
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1603-6824 PMID: 18796279 Document Number: 617924
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disabling inflammatory joint disease of unknown aetiology. Genetic and environmental factors are implicated in its pathogenesis. We performed a literature search on MEDLINE, the Cochrane database and EMBASE on the interaction between smoking and RA. It is concluded that previous and current smoking constitute a risk factor for RA development. Smoking acts synergistically with other RA risk factors, including IgM-rheumatoid factor, anti-CCP and shared epitopes. The effect of smoking on the course of RA has not been described in sufficient detail.