Smoking aggravates many health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. With rheumatoid arthritis, smoking increases the risk of death.

It’s been reiterated time and time again but the evidence holds true – smoking leads to worse health outcomes. However, smoking increases the risk of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Data has shown that people with rheumatoid arthritis have a higher prevalence of smoking cigarettes than the general population. Multiple previous studies concluded that smoking increases the risk of death in this population. But will that risk decrease if the patients stop smoking? That’s what this recent study published in Arthritis Care & Research aimed to determine.

Led by Rebecca Joseph, research assistant at the Centre for Musculoskeletal Research at The University of Manchester, the team dove deeper into the association between smoking and rheumatoid arthritis. They assessed 5,677 people with rheumatoid arthritis (68% female; average age of 61.4). Out of the cohort, 40% were never smokers, 34% were former smokers, and 26% were current smokers.

Current smokers had an increased risk of all-cause mortality with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.98. Death from circulatory disease increased with a sub-distribution HR (SHR) of 1.96 and lung cancer by 23.2. – See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/medical-news/quitting-cigarettes-extends-life-expectancy-of-patients-with-rheumatoid-arthritis#sthash.F59NtFIQ.dpuf

Read Full Article: Quitting Cigarettes Extends Life Expectancy of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis