Blood transfusion, smoking, and obesity as risk factors for the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Results from a primary care‐based incident case‐control study in Norfolk, England

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Abstract
Objective. To examine a range of demographic, social, and clinical risk factors for the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Results. The controls were of higher socioeconomic status than the cases. This was probably due to response bias. Having a body mass index ⩾30 was associated with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 3.74 for developing RA (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.14−12.27). RA was also associated with a history of blood transfusion (OR 4.83, 95% CI 1.29−18.07). Even after correcting for social class, a history of having ever smoked was associated with a higher risk of developing RA (OR 1.66, 95% CI 0.95−3.06). There was no difference between cases and controls in previous exposure to childhood infections, certain surgical procedures, or reproductive history variables. Methods. Population‐based case‐control study in Norfolk, England, involving adult patients, ages 18–70, with an inflammatory polyarthritis of Conclusion. RA has a number of potential environmental triggers, including smoking, obesity, and blood transfusion.