New Delhi: Air pollution, especially fine particulate matter like dust, soot, and smoke can make rheumatoid arthritis worse in patients, found a recent South Korean study.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by joint inflammation and damage. It affects about 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of the global adult population and although genetic factors contribute to the disease, the environment too plays an important role in exacerbating RA. Research has shown that smoking makes RA worse, along with climatic factors like air temperature, humidity, and pollutants in the air.
The recent study was conducted by a team of South Korean researchers and was published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases (ARD). They followed 1,070 RA patients across 12,583 outpatient visits from 2021 to 2024 at major South Korean medical centres.
“Our study found that higher PM2.5 concentration was associated with increased disease activity and flare risk, notably prolonged exposure to elevated PM2.5 over more than two weeks,” said lead investigator Eun Bong Lee, division of Rheumatology, department of Internal Medicine at the Seoul National University, in a statement.
Researchers explained that PM2.5 in particular made RA significantly worse. These microparticles are smaller than red blood cells and they can easily travel from the lungs into the bloodstream and circulate to far off organs too. This triggers the overproduction of harmful molecules called “reactive oxygen species” which stress the body’s cells, damage DNA, and spark an inflammatory response in organs.
“Our study has important implications for public health policy making. While further studies are warranted to determine whether improving air quality can reduce disease activity in RA patients, we would recommend these patients avoid prolonged exposure to poor air quality, particularly high PM2.5 levels,” Lee added.
However, the ARD editor-in-chief, Josef Smolden highlighted that while the findings were important, they were restricted to the Korean population which has a specific genetic background and environmental circumstances.
“Whether these data hold true in other regions of the world should be a focus of future investigations. However it is an excellent starting point for our better understanding of factors that may play a role in influencing disease activity and therapeutic responses of patients with RA. And, it is an important wake-up call, the environment is likely an essential contributor to pain and inflammation in the patients for whom we care,” said Smolden.