Antibiotic use and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based case-control study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antibiotic-induced disturbances of the human microbiota have been implicated in the development of chronic autoimmune conditions. This study aimed to assess whether antibiotic use is associated with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

A nested case-control study was conducted utilising data from the primary care Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Patients with an incident diagnosis of RA were identified (1995-2017). Each case was matched on age, gender, and general practice to ≥ 5 controls without RA. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine previous antibiotic prescriptions and RA onset after controlling for confounding factors.

Results

We identified 22,677 cases of RA, matched to 90,013 controls, with a median follow-up of

SUBMITTER: Sultan AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6685281 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature