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PTSD may be linked to increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis
An increased risk for development of rheumatoid arthritis was found among women with post-traumatic stress disorder independent of smoking status, according to recently published research.
Researchers studied 49,693 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II, and ongoing study of female nurses enrolled in 1989. Participant data, including lifestyle, health practices and health conditions, were collected at baseline and every 2 years. Included participants completed the Brief Trauma Questionnaire to identify symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and did not have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus at baseline.
The incidence of smoking was higher among participants who reported symptoms of PTSD, with a prevalence of 8% among women with four or more PTSD symptoms compared to 5.6% among women with fewer than four symptoms. Women with four or more PTSD symptoms were also more likely to report more than 10 pack-years of smoking (22.1%) compared to women with fewer PTSD symptoms (16.1%).
After adjusting for age, race, parental education and year of questionnaire completion, women with four or more PTSD symptoms had a hazards ratio (HR) of 1.76 for developing RA compared to women with no history of trauma or symptoms of PTSD. A dose-response relationship was found between the number of PTSD symptoms and the risk for developing RA in the overall group, and similar results were observed among seropositive and seronegative women. The HR for RA among women who were never-smokers with four or more PTSD symptoms was 1.58. – by Shirley Pulawski
Disclosures: Lee reports support from NIH grant K23-AR-057578 and the Katherine Swan Ginsberg Fund. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.