The Link Between High BMI and Risk of 5 Rheumatic Diseases

Higher body mass index (BMI) increases the risk for 5 different rheumatic diseases, according to findings published in Arthritis and Rheumatology.

“Although the association between obesity and risk of rheumatic disease is well established, the precise causal relation has not been conclusively proven,” the team of 5 researchers wrote in the paper. Through these findings, the researchers “estimated the causal effect of BMI on the risk of developing 5 different rheumatic diseases.”

The investigators analyzed 361,952 participants from the UK Biobank cohort for 5 rheumatic diseases: rheumatoid arthritis (RA)(n = 8381); osteoarthritis (n = 87,430); psoriatic arthritis (PsA) (n = 933); gout (n = 13,638); and inflammatory spondylitis (n = 4328).

BMI increased the incidence rate for all 5 rheumatic diseases across the board: RA (IRR 1.52, 95% CI), osteoarthritis (IRR 1.49, 95% CI), PsA (IRR 1.80, 95% CI), gout (IRR 1.73, 95% CI), and inflammatory spondylitis (IRR 1.34, 95% CI).

However, in the cases of PsA and gout, women with higher BMI were more at risk than men. The association between higher BMI and osteoporosis was stronger among premenopausal women compared to postmenopausal women.

“The novel sex- and BMI-specific causal effects identified here provide further insight into rheumatic disease etiology and mark an important step toward personalized medicine,” the researchers advised.

Reference:
Karlsson T, Hadizadeh F, Rask-Anderson M and Johansson A. Body mass index and the risk of rheumatic disease: Linear and nonlinear Mendelian randomization analyses. Arthritis and Rheumatology. Published online: May 23, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/art.42613