London, United Kingdom, June 9, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism¹ Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that the likelihood of achieving sustained remission in early rheumatoid arthritis² (RA) is significantly lower in patients who smoke and who are obese³. These findings suggest that encouraging patients to stop smoking and to achieve a healthy body weight could significantly improve their chance of becoming symptom-free after adequate treatment. EULAR recommendations state that remission (absent disease activity) is the target of treatment in patients with RA. However, many patients fail to achieve or maintain remission; within ten years of onset⁴, at least 50% of patients in developed countries are unable to maintain a full-time⁵ job. 

 

"Despite the high prevalence of excess body weight and smoking among RA patients, relatively⁶ little is known about whether and to what extent these modifiable lifestyle factors impact the likelihood of achieving sustained remission," said study investigator⁷ Dr Susan Bartlett from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. "Our findings show that not smoking and a healthy body weight - lifestyle factors which can be modified by patients - can have a significant impact on becoming symptom-free." 

 

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic⁸ disabling disease that affects the joints⁹, connective tissues, muscle, tendons, and fibrous tissue, causing pain and deformity. The prevalence of RA globally varies between 0.3% and 1% and is more common in women and in developed countries.3 

 

The independent effects of Body Mass Index class (normal weight: 18.5-24.9, overweight: 25-29.9, obese: 30+) and smoking on time to sustained remission in the first three years shortly after diagnosis¹⁰ were estimated in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis who had been enrolled¹¹ into the large real world Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH) study.

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