Previous studies reveal the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of alcohol. Anthony G. Wilson, from the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom), and colleagues did a study regarding the association between frequency of alcohol consumption and the risk and severity of rheumatoid arthritis. The team did an assessment of 873 men and women with rheumatoid arthritis (and did a comparison between them with 1004 people without rheumatoid arthritis, serving as controls).
The study participants did a complete detailed questionnaire, had x-rays and blood tests, and had the experience where a research nurse examined their joints. The researchers have the following findings. First, subjects who drank modest amounts of alcohol most frequently experienced less severe symptoms, as compared to those who drank infrequently or not at all.
This finding was confirmed by X-rays that showed there was less damage to joints. Results were able to provide blood tests showing lower levels of inflammation, and physical examination which suggests less joint pain, swelling and disability. Further, the team discovered that non-drinkers were four times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, as compared to people who drank alcohol on more than ten days a month. Which including the risk of developing the disease decreasing according to the frequency of alcohol consumption.
Reporting that their findings applies regardless of gender and in both the anti cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP). As well as positive and negative forms of rheumatoid arthritis, the researchers conclude the following. “Our data suggest that alcohol consumption has an inverse and dose-related association with both risk and severity of [rheumatoid arthritis].”
Source Link:World Health