Obese people are more prone to rheumatoid arthritis risk, finds research

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Stockholm: With the help of genetic analysis, researchers have found a link between obesity-related genes and rheumatoid arthritis. The genetic data od more than 850,000 individuals of European ancestry was used for the analysis.

In the Arthritis & Rheumatology analysis, investigators found an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis when body mass index was predicted to be high based on an individual`s genetics. This was observed for both men and women.

"These results highlight an important role of obesity in the pathological development of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as provide a potential actionable preventive strategy," said senior author Xia Jiang, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute, in Sweden. 

He added, "Future studies are needed to understand the biological mechanisms underlying such a link, and to understand how obesity may causally influence rheumatoid arthritis prognosis."