Associations of Fire Smoke and Other Pollutants With Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine whether pollutants such as fire smoke-related particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM_2.5) are associated with incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).

Methods

This patient-control study used Veterans Affairs (VA) data from October 1, 2009, to December 31, 2018. We identified patients with incident RA and RA-ILD using validated algorithms, matching each patient to ≤10 controls on age, sex, and VA enrollment year. We obtained pollutants including fire smoke PM_2.5, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone, overall PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) at least one year before the index date. We fit conditional logistic regression mo

SUBMITTER: Kronzer VL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12209746 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature