Smokers are more at risk of lupus than those who have never used a cigarette. This probability is doubled, according to an American study.
Skin lesions, joint pain, kidney damage … Lupus causes thousands of sufferers in France. Although this autoimmune disease is still poorly understood, the identification of risk factors is advancing steadily. Among them, tobacco.
As shown in a study published in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, smokers are at greater risk of developing some form of lupus. The good news is that hanging up the ashtray is interesting. This makes it possible to limit the probability of suffering from this pathology.
This finding concerns a common form of lupus, which is characterized by the presence of anti-DNA antibodies in the patient’s body. Present in 50 to 80% of cases, they “are very specific for lupus in particular if they are at a high rate”, explains an online course of the French College of Teachers in Rheumatology.
Several mechanisms involved
To reach these conclusions, researchers from the Harvard School of Medicine (United States) relied on a large American study, carried out among nurses practicing in the country. Of the thousands of women followed since the 1980s, just over 400 suffer from systemic lupus erythematosus.
Within this group, female smokers are at a distinct disadvantage. Researchers have calculated that the risk of developing specific autoantibodies to this disease is doubled. What does not appear in the repentant of tobacco. These observations confirm the results of previous studies.
Another rich teaching result: the number of cigarettes consumed in a year is associated with lupus. Thus, nurses who have smoked more than 10 cibiches in the year are 60% more at risk.
This link could be explained by several mechanisms of tobacco on the body. First, this consumption increases oxidative stress and the production of inflammatory molecules. In addition, cigarettes promote epigenetic changes and genetic mutations.
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