Smoking and the Global Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis Save

Detailed analysis of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database shows that tobacco and smoking is one of the most significant environmental risk factors for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) over the last 20 years. 

This study utilized the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database to analyze the burden of RA attributable to smoking, specifically looking at Deaths, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), Years Lived with Disability (YLDs), Years of Life Lost (YLLs), and the Socio-Demographic Index (SDI). 

From 1990 to 2021, the age-standardized Smoking Attributable Fraction for RA burden metrics generally declined globally. Yet the absolute global number of both deaths and DALYs due to smoking-attributable RA paradoxically increased (deaths: from 1,792–2,264; DALYs: from 145,727–215,780). S

Smoking attibutable RA varied by income and other factors - but Males and older populations experienced higher burdens across all metrics. Moderate SDI countries had the highest smoking-attributable age-standardized Deaths and YLLs rate.

High-burden regions (e.g., Eastern Europe and East Asia) and high-risk populations (e.g., middle-aged and older males) are in need of strong, early interventions to further reduce the global RA burden.