- Researchers are reporting that hormonal changes related to menopause and hormone replacement therapy may increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
- Women who have more than four children could also have a higher risk of developing the painful condition.
- Researchers note that women are two to three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, which could explain why estrogen may be involved in raising the risk.
Having four or more children, developing early menopause, and getting hormone replacement therapy are some factors that might contribute to the development of rheumatoid arthritis in older women.
That’s according to a new study published in the journal RMD Open.
Researchers collected data from 223,526 women who were UK Biobank participants. The scientists looked at information on hormonal and reproductive factors related to rheumatoid arthritis.
They reported that a number of factors increased the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, albeit to different degrees.
The scientists followed the women for an average of about 12 years. During that time, 3,313 (1.5%) developed rheumatoid arthritis.
Specifically, the scientists found the following results:
Pregnancy and the number of children
There wasn’t a significant difference between women who had been pregnant and those who had not.
However, researchers said there was an association between the number of children and rheumatoid arthritis risk.
The scientists reported that women who had four or more children were at higher risk of developing the disease.
Age at first period
The researchers used 13 as the reference age of the first period.
They found that women who were 12 and younger or older than 14 had a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
However, those over age 14 had a more substantial risk than those who were younger than…
Read the full article here