Skip to main content

Certain Foods May Cut Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 18, 2024.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 -- Moderate alcohol consumption and eating oily fish, fruits, and cereals may reduce the risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a review published online Nov. 26 in Nutrients.

Yuanyuan Dong, from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to assess dietary factors and RA risk.

Based on 30 included studies (2.99 million participants; 9,677 RA cases), the researchers found that each two-unit increase per week in total alcohol intake was linked to a 4 percent risk reduction (moderate certainty), while beer consumption was associated with a 10 percent reduction per two-unit increase per week (very low certainty). A 3 percent decrease in seropositive RA risk was seen with each two-unit increase per week in total alcohol intake (moderate certainty). Reduced risk was also seen with increased intakes of fruit (per 80 g/day: 5 percent reduction; moderate certainty) and cereals (per 30 g/day: 3 percent reduction; moderate certainty). However, tea consumption was associated with a 4 percent increased risk for RA per additional cup/day (moderate certainty). There were nonlinear associations seen for total coffee, vegetables, oily fish, and vitamin D supplementation.

"Optimizing dietary intake of certain food components may reduce RA risk, despite moderate-quality evidence," the authors write. "Further research is needed to confirm these associations and explore whether specific dietary patterns or nutrients could emerge as a viable strategy for RA prevention."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit...

Psoriatic Arthritis Tied to Delays in Diagnosis Compared With Rheumatoid Arthritis

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have delays in diagnosis compared with those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published...

Overactive Bladder Positively Associated With Arthritis

WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2025 -- Overactive bladder (OAB) is associated with arthritis, with a positive association seen after adjustment for all covariates, according to a study...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.