Alcohol consumption is associated with lower self-reported disease activity and better health-related quality of life in female rheumatoid arthritis patients in Sweden: data from BARFOT, a multicenter study on early RA

Stefan Bergman,Maria L Andersson,Sofia Symeonidou,Maria K Söderlin

doi:10.1186/1471-2474-14-218

Stefan Bergman, Maria L Andersson + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-14-218

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Abstract

BackgroundEarlier studies have found a positive effect of alcohol consumption, with a reduced disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to assess alcohol consumption and its association with disease activity and health related quality of life (HRQL) in Swedish RA patients.MethodsBetween 1992 and 2005, 2,800 adult patients were included in the BARFOT study of early RA in Sweden. In 2010 a self-completion postal questionnaire was sent to all 2,102 prevalent patients in the BARFOT study enquiring about disease severity, HRQL, and lifestyle factors. Alcohol consumption was assessed using the validated AUDIT-C questionnaire.ResultsA total of 1,238 out of 1,460 patients answering the questionnaire had data on alcohol consumption: 11% were non-drinkers, 67% had a non-hazardous drinking, and 21% were classified as hazardous drinkers. Women who drank alcohol reported lower disease activity and better HRQL, but there were no association between alcohol consumption and disease activity in men. For current smokers, alcohol use was only associated with fewer patient-reported swollen joints. The outcome was not affected by kind of alcohol consumed.ConclusionsThere was an association between alcohol consumption and both lower self-reported disease activity and higher HRQL in female, but not in male, RA patients.

Highlights

Earlier studies have found a positive effect of alcohol consumption, with a reduced disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
Between March and September 2010, all patients who were still alive in the BARFOT study (n = 2,102) received a selfcompletion postal questionnaire with visual analog scales (VAS) for general health and pain, the Swedish version of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) [10,11], patient-reported swollen joint counts (SJCs) and tender joint counts (TJCs), assessment of lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption, and current and past medication with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), glucocorticoids, and biologics
No DMARDs or biologics socioeconomic class and previous treatment with DMARDs and biologics were omitted in the regression analyses, hazardous alcohol consumption was associated with better EuroQol outcome (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.02– 2.75, p = 0.04), better HAQ outcome (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.32–0.86, p = 0.01), and better VAS global outcome (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.37–0.98, p = 0.04)

Summary

Introduction

Earlier studies have found a positive effect of alcohol consumption, with a reduced disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to assess alcohol consumption and its association with disease activity and health related quality of life (HRQL) in Swedish RA patients. Two large studies from the UK and Switzerland on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have reported positive effects of moderate drinking, with a reduced disease activity and a better outcome in RA [2,3]. Drinking has been reported to be Little is known about alcohol consumption and its association with disease activity in Swedish RA patients. The aim of this study was to assess alcohol consumption and its association with disease activity and health related quality of life (HRQL) in a large longitudinal observational study of Swedish RA patients. We hypothesized that wine drinkers would have a good outcome

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