Ciarettes Smoking Increases Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk In African Americans

Cigarette smoking increases rheumatoid arthritis risk in African-Americans


A new study determined that African Americans who smoke cigarettes have a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA risk is more pronounced among individuals positive for the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope, a genetic risk factor for RA. Findings from this study -- the largest to date examining the impact of smoking on RA risk in an African American population -- are available in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).