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Are Antinuclear Antibodies And Rheumatiod Factor Positivity More Prevalent In Apparently Healthy Smokers Compared To Ex-Smokers And Never Smokers?, Susan Nyanzi
Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects
Context: There is now consistent evidence from population and epidemiological studies that cigarette smoking is an independent risk factor for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), via Rheumatoid Factor (RF) production (Deighton, 1997; Saag, 1997; Silman, 1996; Uhlig, 1999; Wolfe, 2000). Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA) are another collection of autoantibodies that are being associated with smoking and RA initiation. To our knowledge, no studies have examined the effects of smoking on both ANA and RF simultaneously in healthy subjects.
Objectives: To determine whether cigarette smoking has an effect on ANA and RF positivity in healthy blood donors.
Design, Setting, Participants: This was a cross-sectional, …