Alcohol Consumption Can Ease Arthritis Symptoms
Consuming alcohol can both ease the symptoms and reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study published in today’s online edition of Rheumatology.
According to a July 27 press release, the study "looked at 873 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and compared them with 1004 people without RA (the control group). The researchers”¦ asked the two groups how frequently they had drunk alcohol in the month preceding their inclusion in the study. The study participants completed a detailed questionnaire, had x-rays and blood tests, and an experienced research nurse examined their joints."
"We found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently had symptoms that were less severe than those who had never drunk alcohol or only drunk it infrequently," said Dr. James Maxwell, a consultant rheumatologist at the Rotherham Foundation NHS Trust and the lead author of the study.
"X-rays showed there was less damage to joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation, and there was less joint pain, swelling and disability. This is the first time that a dose dependent inverse association between frequency of alcohol consumption and severity of RA has been shown in humans," he continued.
This is the first time these results have been observed in humans, the researchers claim. Furthermore, those who did not consume alcohol at least ten days each month were four-times more likely to develop arthritis than those who did drink at said frequency, the study reports.
"While there are a number of limitations to the methodology of this study, the results do suggest that the consumption of alcohol may modify RA, influencing both risk and severity," the authors write in their paper, which is entitled "Alcohol consumption is inversely associated with risk and severity of rheumatoid arthritis".
However, as a spokesperson for Arthritis Research UK, the organization that co-funded the research, told BBC News on Wednesday, "We would not want people with RA to take this research to mean that they should go out and start drinking alcohol frequently and in large amounts as this could be detrimental to their health."
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