Being overweight may worsen the symptoms of patients suffering from early-onset rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study linking this autoimmune disease to body mass index.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects between 0.5 and 1% of the adult population. It initially manifests itself most often by painful stiffness and swelling of the joints.
- While the disease can occur at any age, it generally appears between the ages of 30 and 50, with a peak around age 45. It is two to three times more common in women than in men, a difference likely due in part to an effect of estrogen on immune function.
- This study suggests “a linear relationship” between having a high body mass index and worsening symptoms of early rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that most often initially presents with painful stiffness and swelling of the joints, usually in the wrists, hands and fingers. It evolves over time in the form of flare-ups, interspersed with more or less complete remissions. A new study, which will be presented during the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in the United States, now suggests that obesity could be an aggravating factor in the symptoms of early rheumatoid arthritis.
What is the link between rheumatoid arthritis and body mass index?
To arrive at this observation, researchers from theHospital for Special Surgery, among others, relied on data from a large study carried out between 2014 and 2023 that included 134 volunteers with at least two swollen joints and symptoms of early RA. Specific questionnaires, called OMERACT RA-Flare Questionnaire (RA-FQ), made it possible to evaluate their symptoms of pain, stiffness, fatigue or even the impact of the diagnosed disease on their physical condition, rated 0 ( lowest) to 10 (highest).
The team of scientists then wanted to determine the correlation between the body mass index (BMI) of the participants and their RA-FQ scores deduced from their self-assessments, taking into account age, sex and even gender. ‘Ethnicity. Nearly half (46%) were overweight.
Encouraging people with rheumatoid arthritis to lose weight
As a result, the researchers found “a linear relationship between having a high BMI and having a high RA-FQ score”, in other words between being overweight and worsening rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. “RA-FQ scores increase as BMI does, explains researcher Margaret Butler, lead author of the study, in a communicated. The relationship is even more significant when we distinguish patients according to their BMI type (healthy, overweight or obese), with those with an obese BMI having higher RA-FQ scores compared to the other two groups.
Once it is established that a BMI that is too high is the root cause of frequent flare-ups, “Doctors should encourage RA patients to lose weight, particularly to avoid prescribing additional medications that are supposed to limit symptoms”, underlines Vivian P. Bykerk, who participated in the research. Problem is, it is often difficult for these people to eliminate their extra pounds because, generally, “They lost a lot of muscle mass”. It is better to seek, according to the authors, to “develop your muscles by eating a more nourishing diet, rich in protein”.
