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Obesity & Risk of SLE Examined Among Women
Semin Arthritis Rheum; ePub 2017 May 25; Tedeschi, et al
There was an 85% significantly increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) among obese female patients as compared to women with normal body mass index (BMI) in the more recent Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII) cohort, but no association was observed in the earlier NHS cohort, a recent study found. Secular trends in obesity may account for the differences between the 2 birth cohorts. Researchers conducted a prospective cohort study among 238,130 women in the NHS (1976–2012) and NHSII (1989–2013). They found:
- 153 NHS incident SLE cases and 115 incident NHSII cases were identified during 5,602,653 person-years of follow-up.
- At baseline, 8.4% of women in NHS and 11.8% in NHSII were obese.
- Cumulative average obesity was significantly associated with SLE risk in NHSII, but not in NHS, compared to normal BMI.
- In the meta-analysis of both cohorts, obesity was not significantly associated with increased risk of SLE.
- In NHSII, a 10 pound gain between age 18 and enrollment slightly increased SLE risk.
Tedeschi SK, Barbhaiya M, Malspeis S, et al. Obesity and the risk of systemic lupus erythematosus among women in the Nurses′ Health Studies. [Published online ahead of print May 25, 2017]. Semin Arthritis Rheum. doi:10.1016/j.semarthrit.2017.05.011.