Smoking increases rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility in individuals carrying the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope, regardless of rheumatoid factor or anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody status.

Abstract excerpt

OBJECTIVE: Smoking is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in individuals with the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE). SE alleles have been shown to be predominantly associated with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP)-positive RA. These risk factors have not been identified for anti-CCP-negative RA. The aim of this study was to investigate whether SE-containing HLA-DRB1 alleles, smoking, or the...

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