Key clinical point: Smokers with a family history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be considered a high-risk group who should be informed about increased smoking-associated RA risk and advised smoking cessation.
Major finding: Risk for RA was higher in individuals with vs without first-degree relatives affected with RA (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 4.49; 95% CI 3.96-5.10) and in current vs non-smokers (aHR 1.37; 95% CI 1.24-1.51), with the risk being markedly higher among smokers with a positive family history of RA (HR 6.44; 95% CI 4.61-9.00).
Study details: Findings are from a population-based cohort study that evaluated lifestyle factors and family relationships of 5,524,403 individuals with (n = 76,065) and without (n = 5,448,338) first-degree relatives affected with RA, of which 47,942 individuals developed RA.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Chungbuk National University Korea National University Development Project. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Kim HJ et al. Familial risk of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and interaction with smoking: a population-based cohort study. Rheumatology (Oxford) . 2023 (Jan 24). Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead048