Are obesity and rheumatoid arthritis interrelated?

From the last decade, the accidents of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in obese patients has been rising. Several studies have examined the potential influence of obesity on the development of RA with inconsistent results. The present study investigated the significant association between obesity and RA using the large medical database and also demonstrated that obesity plays an essential role in inflammation and autoimmune conditions.

The rate of obesity and RA, both have been rising these days. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between RA and obesity.  

The analysis is a cross-section approach, used the database of Clalit Health Services to collect electronic data from the beginning to 2015. The analyses looked over 4.4 million enrollees and then RA patients compared with population-based controls who matched for sex and age. Body mass index was categorized under underweight (<18.5 kg/m2 ), normal (18.5-<25 kg/m2), overweight(25-<30 kg/m2) and obese (≥30 kg/m2) classes. The association of RA with obesity and for comparison of groups, logistic regression models and χ2 and t-tests were used. The proportion of obesity (BMI≥30.0 kg/m2) was considered as the main outcomes. Smoking status and body measurements were also recorded for the medical records.  

A total of 54701 controls and 11406 RA patients were involved in the analysis. The RA group exhibited a higher rate of obese individuals than controls. As per the multivariate regression model, obesity and smoking showed a relationship with RA. On the other hand, the inverse link was seen among males and RA.

According to the study outcomes, RA shows a considerable association with obesity. This finding highlights obesity role in autoimmune and inflammation problems.