Guest guest Posted February 16, 2001 Report Share Posted February 16, 2001 This month made 7 years I quit. I smoked 2 to 2 1/2 packs a day, I quit cold turkey. Do I think smoking caused my RA, NOT! I am not one of those people who needs to know why I have this disease, I just wish it would go the hell away. I personally don't care why I have it, just find something to get it under control. I've accepted the fact that I'm going to pretty much live with pain the rest of my life. I don't think my RA will ever go into remission. Sorry to be so negative, guess I'm having on of " those " days. Oh well, at least it's Friday and I have a three day weekend....Yeah~~~~ Tery - FL > To anyone who might feel sad they once smoked and now have RA, you can't be > sure smoking had anything to do with it. Sometimes the most irritating > thing to me is that I would wind up with RA and have never smoked a > cigarette in my life. I was so proud of myself that peer pressure to smoke > never made me even consider taking up the habit. I doubt I would have fared > worse if I had! > > Patsy > > -----Original Message----- > From: Matsumura [mailto:Matsumura_Clan@...] > Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2001 1:08 PM > RA-Support > Subject: [ ] Heavy smoking linked to rheumatoid arthritis > > > Heavy smoking linked to rheumatoid arthritis > > NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters Health) - People with a long history of heavy > smoking are more likely than nonsmokers to develop rheumatoid arthritis, > according to a new report. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in > which progressive damage to the joints leads to increasing disability. > > In a study, people who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for more than 40 > years were 13 times more likely than nonsmokers to develop rheumatoid > arthritis. However, the researchers, led by Dr. Hutchinson of > University Hospital Aintree in Liverpool, UK, found only a weak link between > rheumatoid arthritis and those who had smoked at any time in the past. > > Hutchinson and colleagues compared 239 patients being treated for rheumatoid > arthritis with the same number of patients from a dermatology clinic. Their > findings are published in the ls of the Rheumatic Diseases. > > Although the two groups included about the same number of ex-smokers, the > rheumatoid arthritis group included almost twice as many current smokers > with an average smoking history of 18 years of pack-a-day smoking compared > with just one year of pack-a-day smoking among the other patients. > > Of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 60% reported no close relatives > with the disease. When compared with patients who did have a family history > of rheumatoid arthritis, this group had a significantly different smoking > history. For example, patients with no family history of the disease had > about a 25-year history of pack-a-day smoking compared with just 4 years in > rheumatoid arthritis patients with a family history of the disease. > > The researchers conclude that although smoking itself is not associated with > rheumatoid arthritis, prolonged heavy smoking is a risk factor. When such a > relationship is found, it is often difficult to say which came first: do > people with rheumatoid arthritis smoke more because they have the disease, > or do people who smoke heavily tend to get the disease because they smoke? > > Although this study does not answer the question, it does suggest that > having rheumatoid arthritis does not lead to heavy smoking, the researchers > note. The authors point out that patients with a family history of the > disease tended to have had the condition longer but were less likely to > smoke. > > Hutchinson and colleagues also note that although the reasons for the strong > link between heavy smoking and rheumatoid arthritis are not yet known, one > plausible connection is the effect of smoking on the body's production of > rheumatoid factor--antibodies often found in the blood of rheumatoid > arthritis patients. > > Previously, investigators have found that heavy exposure to smoke over time > increases the production of rheumatoid factor among both healthy people and > those with rheumatoid arthritis. > > The smoking link may also help explain why people with rheumatoid arthritis > have a higher mortality rate, according to Hutchinson and colleagues, > because continued smoking during the adult years sharply increases the death > rate at all ages. > > SOURCE: ls of the Rheumatic Diseases 2001;60:223-227. > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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