Drinking alcohol can cut the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by half, according to a new study which also found that the heaviest drinkers were the least likely to get the disease.
Two studies, involving more than 2,750 people, found not only that drinking had a protective effect, but also that it could cut the additional risk of rheumatoid arthritis run by people who smoke and have a genetic tendency to the disease.
The research, published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, was carried out by Dr Henrik Källberg and Dr Lars Alfredsson from the institute of environmental medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Adding alcohol to the drinking water of mice was recently shown to reduce the clinical signs of arthritis as well as joint damage. But this is the first study to be carried out on the effect of people's drinking habits on their chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
Two separate studies that had already been conducted involving people with rheumatoid arthritis were used. The researchers compared the drinking and smoking habits of those who took part with a similar number of people of similar backgrounds who had not developed the disease. The researchers found that among those who drank regularly, the quarter with the highest alcohol intake were up to 50% less likely to get the disease than the half who drank the least. There was no difference between the sexes.