VIDEO: Risk factors associated with RA development

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Here at the American College of Rheumatology, 2021, Dr. Karen Costenbader, presented risk factors for autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases. And the things that she identified was that, low vitamin D pollutants, can contribute to the risk of autoimmune disease. Well, more recently there's been studies that found, that micro-pollutants can also do this. So, we don't tend to think about it, but you know, the pollution in our air, people who live in the city, in urban areas, they tend to have a higher risk for autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. It's not just about genetic traits. I mean, that plays a big role too. Like the shared epitope, that accounts for about 40 or 50% of their risk, but it's actually the environment. So this is how I see it. It's like having a gun, it's locked, it's loaded, but you need somebody to pull the trigger. The micro-pollutants, can actually pull the trigger. We've always known about, environmental factors playing a role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. So like tobacco smoking. And if the patient had been exposed, to these micro-pollutants, and tobacco at an earlier age, that does increase the risk factor a lot. And what about vitamin D? Well, vitamin D definitely has been associated with autoimmune diseases. So, in Dr. Costenbader's study, she says that 2000 units of vitamin D daily, provided that you're not gonna be toxic. So the goal vitamin D level should be between 40 and 60. So getting patients to a level, that is, you know, good for bone health, as well as, for autoimmune diseases might be something to consider. And then lifestyle. So obesity, not exercising. Those all can contribute to risk for autoimmune diseases. This is why doctors always tell their patients, exercise, lose weight, eat healthy. Because also, diet plays a big role. The Mediterranean diet is much better. Avoiding red meat, a lot of salt. So those are all the risk factors associated with rheumatoid arthritis development