Passive tobacco spike exposure in childhood could cause arthritis later
Passive exposure to tobacco during childhood is associated with increased risk of arthritis in adulthood by 40%
A new study in the journal Rheumatology indicates that being exposed to secondhand smoke in childhood could increase the risk of someone developing arthritis as an adult. The association is similar to what happens because of regular adulthood smoking.
Arthritis also began earlier in smokers exposed to childhood passive smoking
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease where the body’s own immune system attacks multiple joints and joint capsules leading to stiff, swollen, painful and inflammed joints.. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common and most frequent autoimmune diseases. The role of genetics into arthritis susceptibility is well recognized but role of environmental factors interacting with genetic factors has not been studied much.
The study investigated the link between smoking status, including childhood and adult passive exposures, and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
The results of the study confirmed that adulthood smoking was associated with an increased risk of arthritis. In addition, ever (current and past) smokers who also had childhood passive smoking exposure had a higher risk of arthritis than those not exposed as children. Arthritis also began earlier in smokers exposed to childhood passive smoking.
The data also suggested that even in nonsmokers, passive exposure to tobacco during childhood tended to increase the risk of arthritis by about 40%, the magnitude of the increase being similar to that associated with regular adulthood smoking.
“Further study is needed to explore if this increased risk is also mainly observed in people carrying the gene at risk for rheumatoid arthritis, which is quite likely with regard to tobacco,” said the paper’s lead author, Dr Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault. “These results also highlight the importance of children–especially those with a family history of this form of arthritis–avoiding secondhand smoke.”
