Key clinical point: The risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is especially high among nonsmoking adults with chronic lower respiratory disease.

Major finding: Nonsmokers who developed respiratory disease were at significantly increased risk for RA, compared with smokers (adjusted odds ratios 2.1 and 1.2, respectively), and the risk for developing RA was especially high among nonsmoking adults with chronic lower respiratory disease (adjusted odds ratio, 3.1).

Study details: The data come from an analysis of 1,631 incident RA patients aged 18 years and older and 3,283 matched controls enrolled in the Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (a population-based case-control study of incident RA in Sweden) between 2006 and 2016.

Disclosures: The study was supported by the Rheumatology Research Foundation Resident Research Preceptorship and the Mayo Clinic-Karolinska Institutet Collaborative Travel Grant Award.