Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk is high for people with type 1 diabetes, blood clotting disorders, or inflammatory bowel disease, according to a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic. RA patients are also at risk of developing heart disease, sleep apnea, and clots within blood vessels.
The team examined data from the Mayo Clinic Biobank for their research. The information included blood samples and health information on 74 types of illness.
The team discovered some autoimmune disorders and seizure conditions can increase the risk of the disease.
"We found that comorbidities accumulate in an accelerated fashion after diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Heart disease and other conditions may develop as a result of rheumatoid arthritis," authors of the study stated. The study's findings were originally published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition that affects millions around the world. Risk of the disease is higher for women than men. The disease can cause inflammation of the lungs, the heart, and the blood vessels. Damage caused due to inflammation can be dangerous.
Previous research has found the circumstances for RA patients with coexisting diseases are worse in terms of physical disability, functional ability, quality of life, and death rate.
A 2017study published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research states RA can increase the risk of COPD. "These findings are novel because it has only recently been recognized that inflammation plays a role in the development of COPD, and clinicians treating people with rheumatoid arthritis are not aware that their patients are at increased risk of developing COPD," study author Diane Lacaille, MD, FRCPC, MHSc, of Arthritis Research Canada and the University of British Columbia, told a news portal. Adding, "Our results emphasize the need to control inflammation, and in fact to aim for complete eradication of inflammation through effective treatment of rheumatoid arthritis."
Sufficient vitamin D levels could reduce the risk of RA, suggests a study conducted by the University of Birmingham researchers."Our research indicates that maintaining sufficient vitamin D may help to prevent the onset of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis," Dr Louisa Jeffery of the University of Birmingham told a news portal.Adding, "However, for patients who already have rheumatoid arthritis, simply providing vitamin D might not be enough. Instead much higher doses of vitamin D may be needed, or possibly a new treatment that bypasses or corrects the vitamin D insensitivity of immune cells within the joint."
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