Binu Jacob, PhD, of the Toronto Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues found that disease activity, as reflected in the number of swollen and painful joints, was significantly higher in current smokers than in people who had never smoked, even after adjusting for age, sex, and rheumatoid factor.
In contrast, the basic treatment regimen was not affected by smoking status.
"Smoking is a well-known risk factor for developing rheumatoid arthritis, but not many studies have demonstrated an effect of smoking on disease activity," said Dr. Jacob. "And while we don't know for sure what effect smoking has on the disease, I believe it may interfere with the effect of treatment."
The study was presented during the 69th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Rheumatology Association.
For this study, data from 2,090 patients with rheumatoid arthritis enrolled in the Ontario Best Practices Research Initiative (OBRI), a clinical registry of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in routine care, were analyzed.
Patients were divided into 3 groups: non-smokers, former smokers, and current smokers. Demographic data, treatment regimens, and disease activity indices were then compared between the 3 groups.
In the total count, 16.4% of patients were identified as current smokers, another 38.9% were former smokers, and 44.7% had never smoked.
Various medical and patient-based markers were significantly higher for smokers compared to non-smokers. Disease activity markers in former smokers were twice as high as those who had never smoked.
"The implications of these findings are really valid for patients themselves," says Dr. Jacob. "If patients realize that smoking is causing their rheumatic disease to worsen, they may think that if they quit smoking , they could feel better. Even if doctors make most of the decisions about treatment, patients should know that by changing their lifestyle, they can also improve their disease."
Source: medscape.com
