COPD Risk Significantly Increased in RA Patients

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a significantly higher risk of being hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with those without RA, according to a recent study.

For their study, the researchers used administrative health data to identify 24,625 individuals with RA and 25,396 matched controls. COPD was defined using hospitalization records that included a primary COPD code. The researchers calculated incidence rate ratios (IRR) and used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the risk of COPD.
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Overall, the incidence of COPD hospitalization was greater among individuals with RA compared with controls (IRR 1.58). After the researchers adjusted for potential confounders, they found that individuals with RA had a 47% greater risk of COPD hospitalization compared with controls. This risk remained significant in analysis that adjusted for smoking with varying definitions of COPD.

“In our population-based cohort, individuals with RA had a 47% greater risk of COPD hospitalization compared to the general population,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

McGuire K, Avina-Zubieta JA, Esdaile JM, et al. Risk of incident chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in rheumatoid arthritis: a population based cohort study [published online October 19, 2017]. Arthritis Care Res. doi:10.1002/acr.23410.