The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7502 p589
17 May 2008

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

  Acrobat Reader

News summary

Breastfeeding linked to lower arthritis risk

Women who breastfeed for more than a year have a reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study published online (13 May 2008, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases).

Using a community-based health survey, researchers compared data for 136 women aged 44 to 74 years who suffered from RA with data for 544 age-matched controls.

They found that the reduced risk of RA seen in the group of women who breastfed for 13 months or more was dose dependent and remained significant after adjustment for smoking and level of education (odds ratio 0.46, 95 per cent confidence interval 0.24 to 0.91, compared with those who had never breastfed).

They also found that neither taking oral contraceptives nor being pregnant had any significant effect on the risk of RA.

The researchers say: “Possible explanations for the protective effect of breastfeeding include long-term immunomodulation, such as the development of progesterone receptors on lymphocytes, dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and differences in cortisol concentrations.”