Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are a diverse group of diseases that usually affect the joints, but can affect any organ in the body. Smoking and alcohol consumption are well-established risk factors for many adverse health and social outcomes in the general population including RMD as well. The aim of the present study is to investigate the awareness and knowledge of young professionals regarding risk factors for the development of rheumatic diseases. Material and methods: 100 students’ and young professionals’ knowledge and attitudes were surveyed. Descriptive statistical methods were used to present the results. Results and discussion According to 47.9% of the respondents, smoking is a risk factor for the development of rheumatic diseases. Almost half (49.0%) of the respondents believe that the use of alcohol can be a risk factor for the development of rheumatic diseases. Conclusion: The results of the studied literature data and the present study show somel contradictory evidence regarding the severity and direction of the impact of smoking and alcohol use in relation to the development of rheumatic diseases, which affects the level of awareness of young specialists.
Di Giuseppe D, Alfredsson L, Bottai M, Askling J, Wolk A. Long term alcohol intake and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women: a population based cohort study. BMJ (Clinical research ed. 2012;345:e4230
Hedström AK, Stawiarz L, Klareskog L, Alfredsson L. Smoking and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in a Swedish population-based case-control study. Eur J Epidemiol. (2018) 33:415–23
Hensvold AH, Magnusson PK, Joshua V, Hansson M, Israelsson L, Ferreira R, et al. . Environmental and genetic factors in the development of anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) and ACPA-positive rheumatoid arthritis: an epidemiological investigation in twins. Ann Rheum Dis. (2015) 74:375–80
Kallberg H, Jacobsen S, Bengtsson C, Pedersen M, Padyukov L, Garred P, et al. Alcohol consumption is associated with decreased risk of rheumatoid arthritis: results from two Scandinavian case-control studies. Annals of the rheumatic diseases. 2009 Feb;68(2):222–7
Klareskog L, Padyukov L, Alfredsson L. Smoking as a trigger for inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2007 Jan;19(1):49-54. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0b013e32801127c8. PMID: 17143096.
Kochi Y, Thabet MM, Suzuki A, Okada Y, Daha NA, Toes RE, et al. . PADI4 polymorphism predisposes male smokers to rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. (2011) 70:512–5
Lu B, Solomon DH, Costenbader KH, Karlson EW. Alcohol consumption and risk of incident rheumatoid arthritis in women: a prospective study. Arthritis Rheumatol. (2014) 66:1998–2005
Novella-Navarro M, Plasencia-Rodríguez C, Nuño L, Balsa A. Risk Factors for Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis in Patients With Undifferentiated Arthritis and Inflammatory Arthralgia. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Jun 15;8:668898. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.668898. PMID: 34211986; PMCID: PMC8239127.
Rakieh C, Nam JL, Hunt L, Hensor EM, Das S, Bissell LA, et al. . Predicting the development of clinical arthritis in anti-CCP positive individuals with non-specific musculoskeletal symptoms: a prospective observational cohort study. Ann Rheum Dis. (2015) 74:1659–66
Roh S. Smoking as a Preventable Risk Factor for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Rationale for Smoking Cessation Treatment in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. J Rheum Dis 2019;26:12-19. https://doi.org/10.4078/jrd.2019.26.1.12
Saag K G, Cerhan J R, Kolluri S, Ohashi K, Hunninghake G W, Schwartz D A. Cigarette smoking and rheumatoid arthritis severity. Ann Rheum Dis 1997, 56, 463–469
Smolen JS, Aletaha D, McInnes IB. Rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet. (2016) 388:2023–38
Stolt P, Bengtsson C, Nordmark B, Lindblad S, Lundberg I, Klareskog L, et al. . Quantification of the influence of cigarette smoking on rheumatoid arthritis: results from a population based case-control study, using incident cases. Ann Rheum Dis. (2003). 62:835–41
Turk, J.N., Zahavi, E.R., Gorman, A.E. et al. Exploring the effect of alcohol on disease activity and outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis through systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep 11, 10474 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89618-1
van de Stadt LA, Witte BI, Bos WH, van Schaardenburg D. A prediction rule for the development of arthritis in seropositive arthralgia patients. Ann Rheum Dis. (2013) 72:1920–6
van der Heijde D, Daikh DI, Betteridge N, Burmester GR, Hassett AL, Matteson EL, van Vollenhoven R, Lakhanpal S. Common Language Description of the Term Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs) for Use in Communication With the Lay Public, Healthcare Providers, and Other Stakeholders Endorsed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018 Jun;70(6):826-831. doi: 10.1002/art.40448. Epub 2018 Mar 13. PMID: 29532625.
Voigt LF, Koepsell TD, Nelson JL, Dugowson CE, Daling JR. Smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Epidemiology. 1994;5(5):525–32
Wieczorek M, Gwinnutt JM, Ransay-Colle M, Balanescu A, Bischoff-Ferrari H, Boonen A, Cavalli G, de Souza S, de Thurah A, Dorner TE, Moe RH, Putrik P, Rodríguez-Carrio J, Silva-Fernández L, Stamm TA, Walker-Bone K, Welling J, Zlatkovic-Svenda M, Verstappen SM, Guillemin F. Smoking, alcohol consumption and disease-specific outcomes in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs): systematic reviews informing the 2021 EULAR recommendations for lifestyle improvements in people with RMDs. RMD Open. 2022 Mar;8(1):e002170. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002170. PMID: 35351808; PMCID: PMC8966569.
World Health Organization https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco/alcohol
