- Women who breastfeed are less likely to develop
rheumatoid arthritis than women who don't, according to a new report.
"Lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis is a likely additional health benefit of
breastfeeding, in addition to lowering the risk of ovarian cancer and breast
cancer," Dr. Elizabeth Wood Karlson from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston,
told Reuters Health.
Karlson and her colleagues used data from the Nurses' Health Study to explore
the contribution of women's hormonal factors on the subsequent development of
arthritis.
Women who breastfed for a total of 12 to 23 months during their lifetime had
a 30 percent reduction in the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, the authors report,
and those who breastfed for at least 24 months had a 50 percent reduction in
risk.
On the other hand, very irregular menstrual cycles and starting periods at an
early age (by age 10 years) were associated with an increased risk of rheumatoid
arthritis, the report in the medical journal Arthritis & Rheumatism
indicates.
Oral contraceptive use, the number of children a woman had, and her age at
first birth had no effect on the odds of developing arthritis.
"We are currently conducting a study of levels of hormones in blood samples
collected from women in the Nurses' Health Study in 1989," Karlson added.
Specifically, she explained, "We will be studying levels of prolactin and
androgen hormones in women who did not have rheumatoid arthritis at the time of
the blood sample, but later developed rheumatoid arthritis, compared to hormone
levels in women who never developed rheumatoid arthritis."
