The occasional drink may reduce your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. A Swedish study suggests women who enjoy more than three alcoholic drinks a week are half as likely to suffer from the chronic condition.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints, causing swelling, inflammation and increased fluid in the joints. Women are three times more likely than men to develop the condition. However, the Swedish research, carried out over a seven-year period on 34,141 women born between 1914 and 1948, found those who never drank were more likely to go on to have rheumatoid arthritis than women who regularly imbibed for at least 10 years.
The levels of alcohol in the study were defined at 150ml of wine, 50ml of liquor and 500ml of beer. Women who drank more than three glasses of alcohol, regardless of which of kind, were found to have a 52% reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis compared to the teetotal participants. Over the lifespan of the study, 197 participants developed rheumatoid arthritis.
The study is the latest to add to the current scientific evidence that moderate alcohol consumption over a long period of time can actually be beneficial to an individual’s health and prevent chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis developing. The researchers did not examine the effects of heavier alcohol consumption on the development of the condition.
As alcohol has an effect on the body’s immune system, lowering its response, particularly after excessive consumption, the research team were keen to explore any link between its effects and those of an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, in which the immune system attacks the tissue lining the joints. Their conclusion was that regular, moderate intake of wine, beer or spirits may have a positive effect in protecting an individual from developing the condition.
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