Key clinical point: Sinusitis, pharyngitis, and acute respiratory burden all raised the likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Major finding: Acute sinusitis (odds ratio [OR], 1.61; 95% CI, 1.05-2.45), chronic sinusitis (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.39-3.35), asthma (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.03-1.87), and burden of acute respiratory tract disease during the preindex exposure period (OR, 1.30 per 10 codes; 95% CI, 1.08-1.55) were associated with an elevated risk for RA. Acute pharyngitis was associated with seronegative RA (OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.02-2.74), whereas chronic rhinitis/pharyngitis was associated with seropositive RA (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.01-5.99).
Study details: This was a case-control study involving 741 patients with RA matched with 2,223 healthy controls.
Disclosures: The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and Rheumatology Research Foundation funded this research. No conflict of interests was reported.
Source: Kronzer VL et al. J Rheumatol. 2021 Oct 15. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.210580 .