Oral contraceptives and rheumatoid arthritis: Further evidence for a preventive effect

J.P. Vandenbroucke; J.W. Boersma; J.J.M. Festen; H.A. Valkenburg; A. Cats; O. Huber-Bruning; J. J. Rasker

doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(82)90809-1

Oral contraceptives and rheumatoid arthritis: Further evidence for a preventive effect

J.P. Vandenbroucke, J.W. Boersma, J.J.M. Festen, H.A. Valkenburg, A. Cats, O. Huber-Bruning, J. J. Rasker

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

144 Citations (Scopus)

32 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

To investigate a reported negative association between the use of oral contraceptives (OC) and the development of rheumatoid arthritis, a case-control study was undertaken to compare the histories of OC use between 228 women with a diagnosis of probable or definite rheumatoid arthritis and 302 women with the diagnosis of soft-tissue rheumatism and/or osteoarthritis. The use of OCs before the onset of joint complaints was acknowledged by 31·1% of the rheumatoid arthritis patients and by 55·6% of the controls. After adjustment for possible confounding variables, the rate ratio for ever use became 0·42 (95% confidence interval 0·27-0·65), while it was 0·40 (0·22-0·72) for ex-users and 0·45(0·28-0·75) for current users. These findings confirm the finding from the Royal College of General Practitioners Oral Contraceptive Study that the incidence rate of rheumatoid arthritis among OC users was halved.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	839-842
Number of pages	4
Journal	The Lancet
Volume	320
Issue number	8303
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(82)90809-1
Publication status	Published - 16 Oct 1982
Externally published	Yes

Access to Document

10.1016/S0140-6736(82)90809-1

Vandenbroucke1982oralFinal published version, 605 KB
vandenbroucke1983-commentFinal published version, 336 KB

Cite this

@article{ffc2b4ff836542a7a451819db74a1365,

title = "Oral contraceptives and rheumatoid arthritis: Further evidence for a preventive effect",

abstract = "To investigate a reported negative association between the use of oral contraceptives (OC) and the development of rheumatoid arthritis, a case-control study was undertaken to compare the histories of OC use between 228 women with a diagnosis of probable or definite rheumatoid arthritis and 302 women with the diagnosis of soft-tissue rheumatism and/or osteoarthritis. The use of OCs before the onset of joint complaints was acknowledged by 31·1% of the rheumatoid arthritis patients and by 55·6% of the controls. After adjustment for possible confounding variables, the rate ratio for ever use became 0·42 (95% confidence interval 0·27-0·65), while it was 0·40 (0·22-0·72) for ex-users and 0·45(0·28-0·75) for current users. These findings confirm the finding from the Royal College of General Practitioners Oral Contraceptive Study that the incidence rate of rheumatoid arthritis among OC users was halved.",

author = "J.P. Vandenbroucke and J.W. Boersma and J.J.M. Festen and H.A. Valkenburg and A. Cats and O. Huber-Bruning and Rasker, {J. J.}",

note = "Comment in The Lancet, July 23, 1983",

year = "1982",

month = oct,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1016/S0140-6736(82)90809-1",

language = "English",

volume = "320",

pages = "839--842",

journal = "The Lancet",

issn = "0140-6736",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "8303",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Oral contraceptives and rheumatoid arthritis

T2 - Further evidence for a preventive effect

AU - Vandenbroucke, J.P.

AU - Boersma, J.W.

AU - Festen, J.J.M.

AU - Valkenburg, H.A.

AU - Cats, A.

AU - Huber-Bruning, O.

AU - Rasker, J. J.

N1 - Comment in The Lancet, July 23, 1983

PY - 1982/10/16

Y1 - 1982/10/16

N2 - To investigate a reported negative association between the use of oral contraceptives (OC) and the development of rheumatoid arthritis, a case-control study was undertaken to compare the histories of OC use between 228 women with a diagnosis of probable or definite rheumatoid arthritis and 302 women with the diagnosis of soft-tissue rheumatism and/or osteoarthritis. The use of OCs before the onset of joint complaints was acknowledged by 31·1% of the rheumatoid arthritis patients and by 55·6% of the controls. After adjustment for possible confounding variables, the rate ratio for ever use became 0·42 (95% confidence interval 0·27-0·65), while it was 0·40 (0·22-0·72) for ex-users and 0·45(0·28-0·75) for current users. These findings confirm the finding from the Royal College of General Practitioners Oral Contraceptive Study that the incidence rate of rheumatoid arthritis among OC users was halved.

AB - To investigate a reported negative association between the use of oral contraceptives (OC) and the development of rheumatoid arthritis, a case-control study was undertaken to compare the histories of OC use between 228 women with a diagnosis of probable or definite rheumatoid arthritis and 302 women with the diagnosis of soft-tissue rheumatism and/or osteoarthritis. The use of OCs before the onset of joint complaints was acknowledged by 31·1% of the rheumatoid arthritis patients and by 55·6% of the controls. After adjustment for possible confounding variables, the rate ratio for ever use became 0·42 (95% confidence interval 0·27-0·65), while it was 0·40 (0·22-0·72) for ex-users and 0·45(0·28-0·75) for current users. These findings confirm the finding from the Royal College of General Practitioners Oral Contraceptive Study that the incidence rate of rheumatoid arthritis among OC users was halved.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0019985009&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(82)90809-1

DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(82)90809-1

M3 - Article

C2 - 6126710

AN - SCOPUS:0019985009

SN - 0140-6736

VL - 320

SP - 839

EP - 842

JO - The Lancet

JF - The Lancet

IS - 8303

ER -

Oral contraceptives and rheumatoid arthritis: Further evidence for a preventive effect

Abstract

Access to Document

Other files and links

Cite this