ETHANOL CONSUMPTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED RISKS FOR DEVELOPING RA RESULTS FROM THE SWEDISH EIRA STUDY





OP0129
Several studies indicate a suppression of the immune system by ethanol. In a recent study on mice (1), ethanol prevented development of destructive arthritis via effects of the NFB signalling pathways.

Epidemiological investigations on the effects of ethanol on RA are scarce and inconsistent, and there is a need for large epidemiological studies in order to elucidate whether ethanol consumption may influence also human arthritis development.

The aim of the present investigation was to study the relationship between alcohol consumption and risk of developing RA in total as well risk of developing subtypes of RA defined by presence or absence of antibodies toward citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP2), respectively, and also to investigate if potential associations are modified by smoking or HLA-DRB1 SE alleles.

Overall, an increased alcohol consumption (>3 units per week) was associated with a decreased risk of developing RA (OR 0.5, (95% CI 0.4 - 0.7)). There was evidence for a dose dependency; the more alcohol consumed the lower risk of RA. The estimated odds ratio associated with alcohol consumption was about the same regarding the risk of anti-CCP positive RA as the risk of developing anti-CCP negative RA. Furthermore, the association between alcohol consumption and RA was modified by both smoking, and HLA-DRB1 SE alleles.
The results from the present study indicate that ethanol consumption is associated with a protective effect in relation to risk of developing RA, and that this effect is independent of anti-CCP status. The study points to the needs to investigate mechanisms behind the protective effect of ethanol in both man and mice in order to both understand the effect of life style on RA, and to identify new targets for therapy.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: henrik.kallberg@ki.se
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