Do antibiotics raise the risk of rheumatoid arthritis?

Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 02nd September, 2019) New research suggests that antibiotics may raise the risk of rheumatoid arthritis by altering the gut microbiota.About 1.3 million adults in the United States are living withrheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune condition that causesinflammation of the joints.

Researchers do not yet fully understand what drives RA, although they suspect a combination of genetic and environmental factors.Some of the potential triggers of RA include hormonal changes and exposure to certain types of dust or fibers, as well as some viral or bacterial infections.

New research points to the use of antibiotics and the changes that such use may lead to in a person's gut microbiota as potential causes of RA.Studying RA and antibioticsHall and team started from the observation that according to previous studies, using antibiotics, particularly in childhood, significantly raises the risk of developing infections and inflammatory bowel conditions.

More recent studies have suggested that antibiotics may also increase the risk of autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes, autoimmune liver disease, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.Antibiotics may raise RA risk by 60%Sifting through data from the Primary care Clinical Practice Research Datalink, the researchers found 22,677 cases of RA, matched them to more than 90,000 healthy controls, and clinically followed these people for an average of 10 years before they received a diagnosis of RA.

Specifically, those who had received a prescription for one course of antibiotics had 40% higher odds of developing RA, while those who took two courses had 66% higher odds. The odds were even higher among people who took three or four courses.