Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33875561›Full record

ArticleRMD open2021

The effects of alcohol consumption and its associations with disease activity among 979 patients with inflammatory arthritis.

Matthew Turk, Kieran Murray, Yousef Alammari, Aine Gorman, Francis Young, Phil Gallagher, Tajvur Saber, Lorna Freeman, Sinead Maguire, Finbar O'Shea and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in RMD open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Lifestyle Modification for the Management of Psoriatic Arthritis.American journal of lifestyle medicine · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Matthew TurkThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0001-9806-9644
Kieran MurrayThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0001-6201-8116
Yousef AlammariThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Aine GormanThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Francis YoungThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Phil GallagherThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Tajvur SaberRheumatology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Lorna FreemanThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Sinead MaguireSaint James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Finbar O'SheaSaint James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Ursula FearonThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Douglas VealeThe Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland douglas.veale@ucd.ie.ORCID 0000-0003-2802-4971
St. Vincent's University Hospital · IESt. James's Hospital · IELady Reading Hospital · PKTrinity College Dublin · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe role of alcohol in inflammatory disease remains debated. This study explores the relationship between alcohol and disease activity in patients with inflammatory arthritis.

methodsPatients attending a rheumatology clinic between 2010 and 2020 were prospectively followed. Information on demographics, alcohol use, smoking habits and disease outcome measures were collected from these patients. Statistical analysis included univariate and multivariate linear and binary logistic regressions, Mann-Whitney U tests and one-way analysis of variance with Tukey's honest significant difference (HSD) test.

resultsOf the 979 analysed patients, 62% had rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 26.7% had psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and 11.2% had ankylosing spondylitis. Mean DAS28-CRP (Disease Activity Score 28 - C-reactive protein) in RA and PsA at 1 year was 2.96±1.39, and 64.2% of patients were in remission (DAS28-CRP ≤2.6 or BASDAI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index) ≤4). Both male gender and risky drinking (>15 units of weekly alcohol) were significantly associated with remission. Compared with women, men had an OR of 1.8 (1.1, 2.5) (p=0.034) for any alcohol consumption and 6.9 (4.7, 9.1) (p=0.001) for drinking at least 15 weekly drinks. When adjusted for gender, there was no association between alcohol and disease activity. Yet, when adjusted for alcohol consumption, gender still significantly influenced disease activity.

conclusionWhile it may appear that alcohol is linked to remission in inflammatory arthritis, when adjusted for gender, it is not. Men with inflammatory arthritis drink significantly more than women and have less severe disease activity.

Indexed as

Arthritis, PsoriaticArthritis, RheumatoidSpondylitis, AnkylosingAlcohol DrinkingC-Reactive ProteinFemaleHumansMaleC-Reactive Proteinarthritisepidemiologypsoriaticrheumatoid

Identifiers

PMID33875561
PMCPMC8057575
OpenAlexW3154964816

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.