AsianScientist (Feb. 2, 2016) – Occupational exposure to textile dust is associated with more than double the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to scientists from Malaysia and Sweden.
Exposure to textile dust is particularly bad for those genetically susceptible to developing antibodies against rheumatoid arthritis. These antibodies, called anti–citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), hasten the progression of the disease.
The study, published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, was conducted by researchers at the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
The team based its findings on 910 Malaysian women who had been diagnosed with early stage rheumatoid arthritis and 910 women of similar age, but free of the disease. The women were all asked if they had ever worked in the textile industry and had been exposed to other chemicals and silica dust—factors that are associated with heightened risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Blood samples were also taken to see if they had any ACPA antibodies, which are indicative of the disease.
Only women were included in the study because few men work in the textile industry in Malaysia and the prevalence of smoking among them is high. Smoking is a known risk factor for the development of rheumatoid arthritis.
41 of the women with rheumatoid arthritis (4.5 percent) had been exposed to textile dust, compared with 15 (1.7 percent) of the women who were disease-free. This means that those who had been exposed to the textile dust were almost three times as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as those who had not worked in textiles.
Furthermore, textile dust exposure was associated with a more than doubling in risk of testing positive for ACPA. Almost two thirds of those with rheumatoid arthritis (63 percent) tested positive for ACPA, and just under 40 percent carried a genetic risk factor (HLA-DRB1 SE) that increases the risk of developing the disease.
Those with the genetic risk factor and who had been exposed to textile dust were 39 times more likely to test positive for ACPA compared to those without this risk factor and who had not been exposed to textile dust. This magnitude of risk is similar to that found for smoking among carriers of the same genetic risk factor.
“The association between textile dust and risk of rheumatoid arthritis might involve several potential disease mechanisms, since the differing physiochemical properties of airborne dust affect where it deposits in the respiratory tract,” the authors write in the article.
However, as this is an observational study, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. The researchers speculate that the unique shape of textile fibers gives them the capacity to penetrate deep into the lung, where they could prompt an inflammatory response. Another potential explanation could lie in the toxins produced by certain types of bacteria that can be found in textile dust.
“From a public health perspective, our results imply that efforts should be considered to reduce the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis by reducing occupational exposure to textile dust,” they concluded.
The article can be found at: Too et al. (2015) Occupational Exposure to Textile Dust Increases the Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from a Malaysian Population-Based Case–Control Study.
———
Source: The BMJ; Photo: Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
