And yes ladies! Another study proving that it is time to quit smoking! Indeed, according to an American study, smokers are more exposed to the risk of lupus than those who have never taken a cigarette. This probability would even be doubled!
LUPUS: A MISSING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE!
Skin lesions, joint pain, kidney damage ... Lupus makes thousands of patients suffer in France. Although this autoimmune disease is still poorly understood, the identification of risk factors is progressing steadily. Among them, tobacco.
As shown in a study published in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, smokers are at higher risk of developing a form of lupus. The good news is that hanging up the ashtray is interesting. This makes it possible to limit the probability of suffering from this pathology.
This finding concerns a common form of lupus, which is characterized by the presence of anti-DNA antibodies in the patient's body. Present in 50 to 80% of cases, they “ are very specific to lupus especially if they are high rate ", Explain an online course of the French College of Rheumatology Teachers.
To reach these conclusions, researchers at Harvard Medical School (USA) relied on a large US study
nurses practicing in the country. Of the thousands of women followed since the 1980 years, just over 400 suffer from systemic lupus erythematosus.
Within this group, smokers are significantly disadvantaged. The researchers calculated that the risk of presenting autoantibodies specific to this disease is doubled. Which does not appear among the repents of tobacco. These observations confirm the results of previous studies.
Another rich teaching result: the number of cigarettes consumed in a year is associated with lupus. Thus, nurses who have smoked more than 10 cibiches in the year are 60% more at risk.
This link could be explained by several mechanisms of tobacco on the body. First, this consumption increases the oxidative stress and the production of inflammatory molecules. In addition, cigarettes promote epigenetic changes and genetic mutations.
