HealthDaily：女性吸烟易患类风湿性关节炎

　　一项新的研究显示，吸烟女性和曾吸烟女性都易患类风湿性关节炎，而吸烟量的多少、烟龄长短都会影响类风湿性关节炎的发病概率。类风湿性关节炎会造成关节发炎，导致关节肿胀、僵硬、疼痛，且关节功能也会大受限制。风湿性关节炎不仅会影响关节，还会对身体其他部位造成伤害。

　　瑞典卡罗林斯卡医学院的研究人员对3.4万名女性的健康资料进行了分析，这些女性的年龄介于54岁到89岁，其中有219人患了类风湿性关节炎。研究结果显示，如果女性烟龄长达25年，患类风湿性关节炎的概率就会比未曾吸烟者高出许多。即使女性只是稍微吸点烟，一天吸1到7支烟，患类风湿性关节炎概率也会增加一倍以上。研究还发现，吸烟者只要戒烟，就能够减少患类风湿性关节炎的风险。戒烟15年的人患此病的概率下降了近三分之一，但还是高于未曾吸烟者。研究人员指出，由于吸烟可能会增加患类风湿性关节炎的风险，所以，吸烟者应该为自己的健康着想，还是尽早戒烟较好。而对那些从未吸烟的女性来说，尽量不要吸烟，以免以后受病痛折磨。
与关节炎相关的拓展阅读：

• OARSI：推荐膝、髋关节炎机能指标  
• 2013类风湿关节炎诊疗专家共识
• NEJM： Tocilizumab可有效治疗全身性幼年型特发性关节炎 更多信息请点击：有关关节炎更多资讯

原文阅读：Women Who Smoke May Have Higher Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis
FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers and former smokers are at increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis, a new study says.
Researchers analyzed data collected from 34,000 women, aged 54 to 89, in Sweden, 219 of whom had rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation in the joints, resulting in swelling, stiffness, pain and reduced joint function. It can also affect other parts of the body.
The number of cigarettes smoked per day and the number of years a woman smoked both affected the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, according to the study, which was published April 22 in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy.
Women who had smoked for up to 25 years were much more likely to develop the disease than those who never smoked. Even light smoking -- defined as one to seven cigarettes a day -- more than doubled the risk, said the researchers at the Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, in Stockholm.
Quitting smoking did lower the risk, which continued to decrease over time. For those who gave up smoking 15 years ago, the risk had fallen by a third. Their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however, was still much higher compared to women who had never smoked.
Although the study tied smoking to an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis in women, it didn't establish a cause-and effect relationship.
"Stopping smoking is important for many health reasons, including the increased risk of RA for smokers," study leader Daniela Di Giuseppe said in a journal news release. "But the clearly increased risk of developing RA, even many years after giving up, is another reason to stop smoking as soon as possible, and highlight the importance of persuading women not to start at all."