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PARIS: People who drink alcohol are less prone to the
sometimes-crippling disease called rheumatoid arthritis compared
with non-drinkers, according to a Scandinavian study published on
Wednesday.
People who had moderate alcohol consumption were
40 and 45 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis
compared with people who did not drink or drank only occasionally,
it found.
Among those who had a high consumption, the risk
was reduced by 50 and 55 percent respectively.
Most surprising was that the biggest benefits
were seen among smokers with a genetic profile known to make them
vulnerable to the disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects between 0.5 and 1
percent of people, according to figures for the industrialized
world.
It happens when the immune system attacks the
joints, causing inflammation and damage to the cartilage and bone.
A mixture of environmental factors, especially
smoking, and genetic heritage are the deemed causes of the disease.
The authors, led by Henrik Kaellberg of the
Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm, note previous research that suggests alcohol interferes
with inflammatory processes that trigger heart disease.
Doctors advising patients about the disease say
they should urge smokers to kick tobacco, but not necessarily to
stop consumption of alcohol in moderate quantities.
High consumption of alcohol, while apparently
protective for rheumatoid arthritis, is itself linked with many
other health problems.
The paper appears in Annals of the Rheumatic
Diseases, a specialist journal published by the British Medical
Association.
-- AFP
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