This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Moderate alcohol consumption reduced risk for RA in women
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Women in Sweden who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol each week had a reduced risk for rheumatoid arthritis, according to recent results.
Researchers used a prospective cohort study of 34,141 women who were born between 1914 and 1948, and were followed up from 2003 through 2009. Three Swedish registers were used to identify participants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Using a food frequency questionnaire, researchers collected data on alcohol consumption in 1987 and 1997. Participants were asked how many times they had consumed each type of drink (beer, wine and liquor) during the past year. Researchers calculated the average number of glasses of alcoholic beverages per week (1 standard glass=15 g alcohol).
Researchers identified 197 new incidents of RA during follow-up. Of these women, 105 (53%) consumed two or fewer alcoholic drinks per week, while 65 participants (33%) consumed more than two drinks weekly.
Among women who drank more than four glasses of alcohol per week compared with women who drank less than one glass or who never drank (RR=0.63; 95% CI, 0.42-0.96), there was a 37% decrease in RA risk. Women who reported drinking more than three glasses of alcohol per week in 1987 (aged 39 to 74 years) and then again 10 years later had a 52% decreased risk for RA compared with those who reported never drinking in the two questionnaires (RR=0.48; 95% CI, 0.24-0.98).
“These results are in accordance with inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease and add to the evidence that moderate alcohol consumption is not harmful and can be protective against such a chronic disease as rheumatoid arthritis,” the researchers concluded. “However, the effect of higher doses on the risk of rheumatoid arthritis remains unknown.”
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts