In addition to RA and SLE registries and rheumatic disease diagnostic tools, the Nurses’ Health Study data are helping Dr. Karlson and her team develop an online tool to calculate RA risk among families, she says. The NIH-funded tool is currently recruiting 222 families who include someone with diagnosed RA. “People who have family members think they’re at higher risk than they actually are,” she says. A graphic thermometer shows participants their initial risk and then how they can lower it by quitting smoking or losing weight.
“It’s exciting to understand risk factors for RA, but I’ve always wanted to learn how to prevent the disease,” says Dr. Karlson. The Nurses’ Health Study may help rheumatologists complete the puzzle. “Maybe we can find a drug we could give people to prevent them from getting RA.”
Susan Bernstein is a freelance medical journalist based in Atlanta.
