Hair Dye Use Linked to Type of Arthritis

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who use hair dyes for more than 20 years may be nearly doubling their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers.

Investigators also found that smoking, diabetes, and a short period of fertility in women also increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, in which the body's immune system attacks the joints. On the other hand, higher education levels and hay fever were associated with lower risks of developing the disease.

In the study, Dr. Asa Reckner Olsson of Linkoping University, Sweden, and colleagues compared 422 rheumatoid arthritis patients with 859 people without the joint disease. Their findings are published in the October issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The researchers report that insulin use in women and previous injury to the joints also increased the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. In men, risk was linked to being born in a household with a private well, exposure to mold and farm animals.

``It is likely that the risk factors and beneficial factors reported in this study act together with other...factors to facilitate or to prevent (development of rheumatoid arthritis),'' Olsson and colleagues conclude. ``Further studies are warranted to confirm this.''

SOURCE: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2001;60:934-939.

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