ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 1598

Obesity and the Risk for Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis – Results from a Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study

Lotta Ljung1,2 and Solbritt Rantapää-Dahlqvist3, 1Department of Medicine, Solna, Clinical epidemiology unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2Department for Public Health and Clinical Medicine/Rheumatology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, 3Department for Public Health and Clinical Medicine/ Rheumatology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

Meeting: 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Date of first publication: September 29, 2015

Keywords:

Session Information

Date: Monday, November 9, 2015

Title: Rheumatoid Arthritis - Clinical Aspects Poster II

Session Type: ACR Poster Session B

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose:

Studies on obesity and the risk
for development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have shown diverse results. In
this study we evaluated the association between obesity and subsequent risk for
development of RA.

Methods:

In The Västerbotten
Interventional Program (VIP) or/and The WHO project Multinational MONItoring of
Trends and Determinants of CArdiovascular Disease (MONICA) 1985-2013
individuals with RA (according to the ACR/ARA 1987 Classification criteria,
with year of onset of symptoms 1989-2013) were identified (cases, n=557), and
data from the latest visit antedating onset of RA symptoms were retrieved. From
the same population-based, prospective cohorts 1671 controls, matched for age,
sex, cohort, inclusion year, cohort and area of inhabitance (rural/urban) were
randomly selected. Prospectively collected data on body mass index (BMI;
weight/lenght2), smoking habits, and educational level was used in
calculations of odds ratio; OR (95% confidence interval) in conditional
logistical regression assessing associations between obesity and the risk for
development of RA. Missing variables were handled by multiple imputation
(smoking 2.2%, BMI 0.6%, and education 1.6%).

Results:

The cases (mean age at RA symptom
onset 58 SD 11 years, 68% women) had been included in the cohorts (MONICA n=50,
VIP n=507) at a mean of 6.2 SD 4.7 years before the onset of symptoms of RA.
Obesity (BMI≥30) was associated with an increased risk for RA
development, OR 1.5 (1.1-2.0), compared to those with normal weight (BMI
18.5-25). The association was observed in both sexes (Table 1). Stratifying the
patients on age at onset of symptoms of RA the association between obesity and
the risk of RA was only observed in the quartile with disease debut at 50 years
of age, or earlier, OR for obesity vs. normal weight 1.9 (1.03-3.5) (Figure
1).

OR1 = Unadjusted model. OR2 = Model adjusted for
smoking and educational level.

Figure 1. Odds ratios for the
association between obesity and risk of development of RA in subgroups based on
age at onset of symptoms of RA.

Conclusion:

Obesity was associated with a
moderately increased risk for subsequent development of RA. The association was
observed in both men and women, but mainly in patients with early onset of RA.

 

Disclosure: L. Ljung, None; S. Rantapää-Dahlqvist, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Ljung L, Rantapää-Dahlqvist S. Obesity and the Risk for Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis – Results from a Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/obesity-and-the-risk-for-development-of-rheumatoid-arthritis-results-from-a-population-based-nested-case-control-study/. Accessed .

« Back to 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/obesity-and-the-risk-for-development-of-rheumatoid-arthritis-results-from-a-population-based-nested-case-control-study/