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  • Occupational inhalable agents constitute major risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in the context of genetic predisposition and smoking

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Rheumatoid arthritis
Occupational inhalable agents constitute major risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in the context of genetic predisposition and smoking
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  • Published on: 10 February 2023
    Correspondence on “Occupational inhalable agents constitute major risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in the context of genetic predisposition and smoking” by Tang et al.
    • Gabriela Schmajuk, Associate Professor University of California – San Francisco; San Francisco VA
    • Other Contributors:
      • David Hutchinson, Dr
      • Laura Trupin, Dr
      • Edward Yelin, Dr
      • Daniel Murphy, Dr
      • Paul Blanc, Dr

    We read with interest the publication by Tang and coauthors on occupational risks for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (1), which builds on previous valuable observations from the Swedish EIRA cohort.

    Their findings can be further strengthened when contextualized with other studies of occupation and RA from the U.S. and the U.K., in which higher prevalences of inhalational risk exposure are found. Results from U.S. population-based surveys, with a combined sample of nearly 5000 ever-employed males, showed that work in silica-exposing jobs exclusive of mining was associated with greater than three-fold odds of RA in both of the two regions studied (Appalachia and the Southwest Mountain States).(2,3) Because such non-mining silica exposure was common (28% and 18%, respectively), the population attributable fraction (PAF) within these groups was considerable: 27% (95% CI 23%, 30%) and 17% (95% CI 13%, 20%), respectively.

    Results from a U.K. study show additional effects of inhalational exposures (with silica being the most common) on RA seropositivity, antibody titer, and age of onset. (4) A study of 726 men with RA from Cornwall demonstrated that inhalational exposures were strongly associated with having seropositive RA, with higher RF antibody titers and earlier age of onset compared to unexposed patients. In that study, 75% of subjects had inhalational exposures lasting more than one year, and the estimated PAF for being strongly RF positive RA was 24.2%.

    ...Show More
    Conflict of Interest:
    None declared.