Textile dust link to rheumatoid arthritis

Monday January 18th, 2016

Workers who are exposed to textile dust could more than double their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study.

Research, published in the latest edition of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, also reveals for the first time that such occupational exposure is linked to an increased risk of genetic susceptibility to developing antibodies to rheumatoid arthritis (ACPA).

Using data from the Malaysian Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis population-based case-control study, the researchers studied 910 Malaysian women who had been diagnosed with early stage rheumatoid arthritis and 910 women but free of the disease for the observational study.

All women, who were aged between 18 and 70 years between 2005 and 2009 and were from Peninsular Malaysia, were asked if they had ever worked in the textile industry, and if they had been exposed to other chemicals and silica dust, which are linked to heightened risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

Blood samples were also taken to see if they had any ACPA antibodies, which are indicative of the disease.

Researchers found that 41 of the women with rheumatoid arthritis (4.5%) had been exposed to textile dust compared with 15 (1.7%) of those who did not have the disease, meaning that those who had been exposed to the textile dust were almost three times as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as those who had not worked in textiles.

Exposure to textile dust was also linked to more than doubling in risk of testing positive for ACPA, with 63% of those with rheumatoid arthritis testing positive. Just under 40% had a genetic risk factor (HLA-DRB1 SE) that increases the risk of developing the disease.

The women who had a risk factor and had been exposed to textile dust were 39 times more likely to test positive for ACPA compared with those who did not carry the risk factor and who had not been exposed to textile dust.

“From a public health perspective, our results imply that efforts should be considered to reduce the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis by reducing occupational exposure to textile dust,” they conclude.

Lai Too C, Muhamad N, Ilar A et al. Occupational exposure to textile dust increases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis: results from a Malaysian population-based case-control study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 15 January 2016; doi 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-208278 [abstract]

Tags: Asia | Rheumatology

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