Aching joints? Alcohol may help!

One in Five adults in the United States has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but relief could be given to these victims by drinking alcohol.

Drinking alcohol on a fairly regular basis has been shown to reduce the intensity of rheumatoid arthritis and the chance of developing the disease at all. The study looked at 873 patients with RA and 1004 people without RA. Both groups were asked how frequently they drank alcohol in the month before the study. All the people completed an in-depth questionnaire, had x-rays, blood tests, and an experienced nurse examined their joints. Dr. James Maxwell, author of the study and consultant rheumatologist at the Rotherham Foundation NHS Trust was quoted as saying "we found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently had symptoms that were less severe than those who had never drunk alcohol or only drunk it infrequently. X-Rays showed there were less damage to joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation, and there was less joint paint, swelling, and disability." It was also found that people who didn't drink were four times more likely to develop RA than people who drank more than ten times a month.

The only disadvantages to the study are recording the frequency not the amount of alcohol drunk, people inaccurately estimating how often they drank, and information about fluctuating alcohol consumption over a longer period of time. Dr. Maxwell was quoted as saying "further research is needed to confirm the results of our study and to investigate the mechanisms by which alcohol influences people's susceptibility to RA and the severity of symptoms. It is also possible that different types of alcoholic drinks may have different effects on RA."

It is not known for sure why alcohol intake affects RA, but there is some evidence that alcohol suppresses the immune system. This may influence the pathways where RA develops, but it is known that RA is seen in these pathways long before symptoms develop in the body. Symptoms at first include fatigue, loss of apatite, morning stiffness, and muscle aches, and then proceed to joint pain in the fingers, wrists, elbows, hips, knees, ankles, and toes.

Although there may be some limitations to the methodology of the study, the results strongly suggest that alcohol consumption influences risk and severity of RA.