title: Associations of alcohol use with radiographic disease progression in African Americans with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the associations of alcohol consumption and radiographic disease progression in African Americans with recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with RA included in the study were participants in the Consortium for the Longitudinal Evaluation of African Americans with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (CLEAR) registry. Patients were categorized based on self-reported alcohol consumption; those consuming < 15 beverages per month versus those with ≥ 15 per month. Association of radiographic disease progression over a 1-year to 3-year period of observation with alcohol consumption was evaluated using multivariate generalized estimating equations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 166 patients included in the study, 39% reported that they had never consumed alcohol. Of the 61% who had consumed alcohol, 73% reported that they consumed on average < 15 alcoholic beverages per month and 27% reported consuming ≥ 15 per month. In multivariate analysis, consumption of ≥ 15 alcoholic beverages per month was associated with an increased risk of radiographic disease progression (p = 0.017). There was no evidence of a relationship in those consuming < 15 beverages per month (p = 0.802).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There appears to be a dose-dependent relationship between alcohol use and radiographic disease progression in RA. Individuals who consume 15 or more alcoholic beverages per month may have faster rates of radiographic joint damage than those with lower levels of consumption.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Biostatistics, Omaha Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6270, USA.
authors.forename: Marshall L R
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Kaleb
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.forename: Harlan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sayles
authors.forename: Doyt L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Conn
authors.forename: Larry W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Moreland
authors.forename: S Louis
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bridges
authors.forename: Ted R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Mikuls
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D057566:Self Report; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents
keywords: ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION; DISEASE ACTIVITY; DISEASE SEVERITY; RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS