Can smoking give you arthritis?
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Researchers say smoking can raise the risk of rheumatoid arthritis - at least, in some people.
At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Ted Mikuls compared data on 605 people with rheumatoid arthritis - in which the body's immune system attacks joints - and 255 healthy people. All were African-Americans. Mikuls says the risk of arthritis was doubled among heavy smokers - people who had smoked at least a pack a day for 10 years:
``This is yet another thing for people to think about when they are picking up their cigarettes - they may be increasing their risk for arthritis.'' (7 seconds)
Although the research focused on African-Americans, Mikuls believes the findings apply to people of other races, too.
The study in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more at hhs.gov.