“We do not know for sure whether other factors, like diet, or any factors related to working in the textile industry could be driving these associations,” Norris said by email.
Previous research has linked the disease in men to inhaled silica, and other types of occupational dust fumes have also been connected to RA, noted Dr. Dan Murphy of Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, U.K.
Textile dust might contain nanoparticles of carbon, which have the potential to alter the environment inside the lungs and trigger an autoimmune response that leads to RA, Murphy, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
“Rheumatoid arthritis is a preventable disease with smoking cessation and the wearing of appropriate masks in the workplace,” Murphy added. “The finding that textile dust increases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis strengthens the case that in a significant proportion of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis the disease is occupational.”
