According to a new study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases that compared 136 women with rheumatoid arthritis to 544 without the condition, women who had breastfed for 13 months or more were half as likely to develop the disease as those who had never breastfed. The study also found that taking oral contraceptives did not have the same effect.
Experts said previous studies showed that "breastfeeding was a risk factor for developing rheumatoid arthritis in a small group of women soon after giving birth to their first child."
Source: "Breast-feeding, but not oral contraceptives, is associated with a reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis" Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. Published Online First: 13 May 2008. doi:10.1136/ard.2007.084707 (f/t via Athens)
Showing posts with label rheumatoid arthritis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rheumatoid arthritis. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Cod liver oil can cut arthritis drug use
The Daily Mail reported cod liver oil can cut the daily dose of anti-inflammatory drugs needed to ease the pain of arthritis.
The report is based on a small double-blind randomised controlled trial of 97 people aged 37 - 78 with rheumatoid arthritis for an average of 13 years and taking regular NSAID medication. The participants were randomly assigned to either daily capsules of cod liver oil and fish oil or a placebo over 9 months.
60% of participants completed the study, 39% in the cod liver oil group were able to reduce their NSAID intake by about 30% compared with the placebo group. The researchers concluded that cod liver oil capsules could be used by arthritis sufferers to cut their NASID intake.
The study was funded by a company that sells cod liver oil capsules and other food supplements and was published in the journal Rheumatology.
Source: "Cod liver oil (n-3 fatty acids) as an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sparing agent in rheumatoid arthritis" - Rheumatology, published online on March 24, 2008
The report is based on a small double-blind randomised controlled trial of 97 people aged 37 - 78 with rheumatoid arthritis for an average of 13 years and taking regular NSAID medication. The participants were randomly assigned to either daily capsules of cod liver oil and fish oil or a placebo over 9 months.
60% of participants completed the study, 39% in the cod liver oil group were able to reduce their NSAID intake by about 30% compared with the placebo group. The researchers concluded that cod liver oil capsules could be used by arthritis sufferers to cut their NASID intake.
The study was funded by a company that sells cod liver oil capsules and other food supplements and was published in the journal Rheumatology.
Source: "Cod liver oil (n-3 fatty acids) as an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sparing agent in rheumatoid arthritis" - Rheumatology, published online on March 24, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Vegan diet can help arthritis sufferers
A Swedish study found people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) could cut their risk of heart attacks and strokes by excluding meat, dairy products and gluten from their diets.
Some 66 RA sufferers were assigned at random to either a vegan diet that was free of gluten or a well-balanced non-vegan diet for a year. The result showed that the vegan group had lower body mass index and levels of bad cholesterol than the non-vegan group. Levels of antibodies associated with protection against cardiovascular disease was also increased in the vegan group.
Some limitations of the trial - the sample size was very small and almost half of the people assigned to the gluten-free vegan diet dropped out of the study before one year elapsed.
Source: "Gluten-free vegan diet induces decreased LDL and oxidized LDL levels and raised atheroprotective natural antibodies against phosphorylcholine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized study" Arthritis Research & Therapy 2008 (free open access)
Some 66 RA sufferers were assigned at random to either a vegan diet that was free of gluten or a well-balanced non-vegan diet for a year. The result showed that the vegan group had lower body mass index and levels of bad cholesterol than the non-vegan group. Levels of antibodies associated with protection against cardiovascular disease was also increased in the vegan group.
Some limitations of the trial - the sample size was very small and almost half of the people assigned to the gluten-free vegan diet dropped out of the study before one year elapsed.
Source: "Gluten-free vegan diet induces decreased LDL and oxidized LDL levels and raised atheroprotective natural antibodies against phosphorylcholine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized study" Arthritis Research & Therapy 2008 (free open access)
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