Smoking and Genetics Combine to Increase Risk of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis

The combination of a known environmental risk factor and a recognized genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) dramatically increases the chance of developing the disease, according to a report in the January issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. Researchers found that:

• a history of smoking increases the risk of RA in patients positive for anti-citrulline antibodies (anti-CCP).
• inherited HLA-DR SE (shared epitope) genes (single or double copies) increase the risk of RA in patients postive for anti-CCP.

There is 21 times the risk of developing RA for patients who test positive for anti-CCP, smoke, and carry double copies of HLA-DR SE genes.

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