Can rheumatoid arthritis increase risk of airway condition?

Rheumatoid arthritis may be genetically associated with the risk of developing bronchiectasis — a widening and thickening of the airways caused by inflammation and infection.

Investigators used genome-wide association study data to examine the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and bronchiectasis, according to a study published in Frontiers in Medicine. They identified a causal effect of rheumatoid arthritis on bronchiectasis but no causal effect of bronchiectasis on rheumatoid arthritis.

After adjusting for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants, the investigators found that immunosuppressants may help mediate the connection between rheumatoid arthritis and the development of bronchiectasis.

Read more: Frontiers in Medicine

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