Abstract
Background:
The effect of alcohol on disease activity in inflammatory arthritis remains poorly understood. Studies of alcohol and the incidence or risk of inflammatory arthritis are conflicting [1,2]. Alcohol does downregulate pro-inflammatory cytokines and may therefore reduce immune-mediated disease activity.
Objectives:
This study investigates the relationship between alcohol consumption and disease activity in our inflammatory arthritis patient cohort and performs a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Methods:
Cohort Study Design and data analysis
Patients attending a rheumatology clinic between 2010-2020 were prospectively followed. Information on demographics, alcohol use, smoking habits, and disease outcome measures were collected. Statistical analysis included univariate and multivariate linear and binary logistic regressions, Mann Whitney-U tests, and one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s HSD.
Meta-analysis
EMBASE, Pubmed, the Cochrane library, and Web of Science were searched. Studies reporting on alcohol consumption and disease activity in a cohort of RA patients were included for further investigation. Forest plots were generated from 95% confidence intervals of extracted data using mean differences. Linear regression was used to determine correlations between alcohol and antibody status, gender, and smoking status.
Results:
Cohort Study
Of the 979 analysed patients, 62% had RA, 26.7% had PsA, and 11.2% had AS. Mean DAS28-CRP in RA and PsA at one year was 2.96 ± 1.39, and 64.2% of patients were in remission (DAS28-CRP ≤ 2.6 or BASDAI ≤ 4). Both male gender and risky drinking (>15 units of weekly alcohol) were both significantly associated with remission. Compared to women, men had an odds ratio of 1.78 [1.04, 2.52] (p=0.034) for any alcohol consumption and 6.9 [4.7, 9.1] (p=0.001) for drinking at least 15 weekly drinks. when adjusted for gender, there was no significant association between alcohol and disease activity. Yet, when adjusted for alcohol consumption, gender still influenced disease activity.
Meta-analysis
The search identified 4126 citations of which 14 were included. The pooled mean difference in DAS28 (95% CI) was 0.34 (0.24,0.44) (p<10-5) between non-drinkers and drinkers, 0.33 (0.05,0.62) (p=0.02) between non-drinkers and heavy drinkers, and 0 (-0.3,0.3) (p=0.98). between low- and high-risk drinkers. There was a significant difference in the mean difference of HAQ assessments between those who drink alcohol compared to those who do not (0.3 (0.18,0.41), p<10-5). There was no significant correlation between drinking and gender, smoking status, or antibody positivity.
Conclusion:
While it appears that alcohol is linked to remission in inflammatory arthritis, this association is lost when adjusted for gender. Men with inflammatory arthritis drink significantly more than women and men generally have less severe disease activity. However, the meta-analysis suggests alcohol consumption is associated with lower disease activity and self-reported health assessment in rheumatoid arthritis.
References:
[1]Bae S-C, Lee YH. Alcohol intake and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a Mendelian randomization study.
Z Rheumatol
2019;
78
:791–6. doi:10.1007/s00393-018-0537-z
[2]Scott IC, Tan R, Stahl D,
et al.
The protective effect of alcohol on developing rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Rheumatology (Oxford
) 2013;
52
:856–67. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kes376
Figure 1.
Mean differences in DAS28 between drinking groups. A between non-drinkers and drinkers. B between non-drinkers and high-risk drinkers. C between low-risk and high-risk drinkers.
Disclosure of Interests:
None declared