In the population-based Swedish Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (EIRA) study, women with a history of oral contraceptive (OC) use had a decreased risk of developing anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with women who had never used OCs (OR 0.87, 95%CI 0.78–0.97). The risk of ACPA-positive RA among smokers was higher in those who had never used OCs than in those who had. The study could not confirm an association between breastfeeding and a decreased risk of either ACPA-positive or ACPA-negative RA.
References
Orellana, C. et al. Oral contraceptives, breastfeeding and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis: results from the Swedish EIRA study. Ann. Rheum. Dis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-211620 (2017)
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Onuora, S. Oral contraceptive use linked to lower risk of RA. Nat Rev Rheumatol 13, 570 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2017.156
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2017.156