Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Year in Review
  • Published:

Rheumatoid arthritis in 2017

Protective dietary and hormonal factors brought to light

Tremendous progress has been made in the identification of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk factors in 2017. The results of epidemiological studies highlighted dietary and hormonal factors that are associated with slowing the transition from one preclinical phase of RA to another, potentially protecting individuals from developing RA.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Preclinical phases of ACPA+ rheumatoid arthritis.

References

  1. Burgers, L. E. et al. Differences in the symptomatic phase preceding ACPA-positive and ACPA-negative RA: a longitudinal study in arthralgia during progression to clinical arthritis. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 76, 1751–1754 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sparks, J. A. & Karlson, E. W. The roles of cigarette smoking and the lung in the transitions between phases of preclinical rheumatoid arthritis. Curr. Rheumatol. Rep. 18, 15 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Gan, R. W. et al. The association between omega-3 fatty acid biomarkers and inflammatory arthritis in an anti-citrullinated protein antibody positive population. Rheumatology (Oxford) 56, 2229–2236 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hu, Y. et al. Long-term dietary quality and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 76, 1357–1364 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Orellana, C. et al. Oral contraceptives, breastfeeding and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis: results from the Swedish EIRA study. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 76, 1845–1852 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Di Giuseppe, D. et al. Fish consumption and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a dose-response meta-analysis. Arthritis Res. Ther. 16, 446 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Proudman, S. M. et al. Fish oil in recent onset rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised, double-blind controlled trial within algorithm-based drug use. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 74, 89–95 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Chiuve, S. E. et al. Alternative dietary indices both strongly predict risk of chronic disease. J. Nutr. 142, 1009–1018 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Bengtsson, C. et al. Association between menopausal factors and the risk of seronegative and seropositive rheumatoid arthritis: results from the Nurses' Health Studies. Arthritis Care Res. 69, 1676–1684 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The work of the authors is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), grant numbers K23 AR069688 and L30 AR066953 (to J.A.S.), R01 AR049880, R01 AR061362 and K24 AR066109 (to K.H.C.), as well as P30 AR070253 and P30 AR072577. The funding bodies had no role in the preparation of or decision to publish this manuscript. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen H. Costenbader.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sparks, J., Costenbader, K. Protective dietary and hormonal factors brought to light. Nat Rev Rheumatol 14, 71–72 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2017.216

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2017.216

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing