by Elena Meli
Hormonal and reproductive factors, such as length of fertile life or number of children, can affect the likelihood of disease. Much also depends on bad habits, such as smoking and extra pounds
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that is much more common among women, affecting three to four times more often than men. And part of the blame seems to lie in purely female hormonal and reproductive factors: entering menopause too early, before the age of 45, but also following hormone replacement therapy or having had four or more children seems to significantly increase the probability of getting ill.
Large study
He proved it an investigation conducted on over 220 thousand British people followed for twelve years, whose data was available in the UK Biobank database: over three thousand women, equal to 1.5 percent of the population studied, developed rheumatoid arthritis. Analyzing the association between the probability of the disease and any hormonal and reproductive factors, the researchers observed that women who went through menopause before the age of 45 would have a 46 percent higher risk of getting the disease compared to those who have reached the end of their childbearing age. at 50-51 years; the risk increases by 39 percent in those who have had a reproductive life of less than 33 years in total (it is no coincidence that there is a slight increase in risk also in women with a later menarche, after the age of 14) and by 46 percent in those who have followed hormone replacement therapy, while it increases by 40 percent if there has been a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus). Having many children, four or more, would increase the probability, but only slightly.
The researchers underline that this is an observational study, therefore not able to establish cause and effect relationships, but also that «hormonal and reproductive factors affect the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, therefore they must be studied in depth to understand if they can suggest more targeted to mitigate the risk of disease in selected women”.
Choices that help
Everything needs to be explored further, therefore, and above all these are elements that do not depend on one’s will, if one excludes the choice of the number of children; instead, to reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis a lot can be done with lifestyle habits. A genetic predisposition can influence the probability, but today it is clear that cigarette smoking or obesity can also be very negative, therefore quitting smoking or returning to one’s ideal weight are certainly two protective and virtuous choices. The same goes for attention to oral hygiene given that periodontitis, the serious inflammation of the gums, is also associated with a greater risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Finally, a healthy diet and an active lifestyle help to maintain the microbiota, i.e. the intestinal bacterial flora, in the best possible balance: various studies in fact seem to suggest that alterations in the quantity and quality of intestinal bacteria are associated with a greater risk of some autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.
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February 17, 2024 (modified February 17, 2024 | 08:54)
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