Fish intake does not majorly impact overall rheumatoid arthritis risk but can lessen the association of smoking for rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed under 55 years of age.
Cohort Study Fish Oils
In this study, we evaluated fish intake and its potential impact on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk in a sample of 166,013 women, utilizing data from two prospective cohorts, the Nurses' Health Study spanning 1984-2014, and the Nurses' Health Study II spanning 1991-2015. We assessed fish intake using food frequency questionnaires given at the start of the study and every four years following. We determined cases of RA and their serologic status by reviewing medical records. Subsequently, we applied a pooled Cox regression model to estimate hazard ratios for RA relative to fish intake frequency. Additionally, we tested for any interactions between smoking and fish intake concerning RA risk.
In the analysis of our results, during a combined follow-up period resulting in over 3.8 million person-years, we documented 1,080 incident RA cases. Interestingly, we found no significant association between higher fish intake and a reduced risk of RA, whether seropositive or seronegative. However, we observed an elevated risk of RA specifically in cases diagnosed after 55 years of age with an increase in fish intake. In contrast, among women 55 years old or younger, frequent fish intake compared to infrequent consumption was generally associated with a reduced risk of RA. Furthermore, our results indicated that ever-smokers with infrequent fish intake exhibited a significantly higher risk of RA diagnosed 55 years or younger. However, this risk was more modest among ever-smokers with frequent fish intake.
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