Alpha-1-antitrypsin types and rheumatoid arthritis

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Abstract
Frequencies of .alpha.-1-antitrypsin (Pi) phenotypes were studied in 100 female and 100 male Swedish patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis and compared with the population frequencies. A significant increase of rare Pi types (MS, MZ, MF and SZ) was found among the patients. The increase concerned mainly Z heterozygotes and was more strongly pronounced in male patients. The M-subtypes showed no association with rheumatoid arthritis. Previous investigations of Pi types in rheumatoid arthritis show somewhat variable results. An association between the Z allele and rheumatoid arthritis is likely to exist, while the evidence for a relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and other Pi alleles is considerably weaker.