“This is a long one… but I hope something here is useful. My frustration over my struggle to hold a job is still a big part of my life. But I hope I’m moving toward figuring out what will be sustainable. Unfortunately, being either under or unemployed is pretty standard for autistic women, so I feel the struggle and have so much compassion for anyone who is going through the same thing.”
In this video, I teach you a powerful tool for living your best life: Non-Talk Therapy.
A systematic review has examined 30 studies—between them involving nearly 10,000 people with rheumatoid arthritis—carried out between 2000 and 2024. The work sheds fresh light on the relationship between 32 food groups, drinks, and nutrients and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, with solid evidence that some food groups could help stave off the symptoms.
The findings show that some dietary factors – including oily fish and Vitamin D – could have a protective role and help stop people from developing the disease. Eating more cereals, including whole grains, breakfast cereals, and fruit, seems to be linked to a lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis while drinking more tea could be linked to a higher risk. However, according to research author Yuanyuan Dong, a PhD researcher at the University’s School of Food Science and Nutrition, the results are not straightforward. For example, drinking two units of alcohol a week—the equivalent of a pint of lower-strength lager or beer or a standard glass of wine a week—may have a protective effect. Still, excessive consumption increases the risk of developing the condition.
The protective effect of alcohol diminished with higher intake, disappearing entirely at approximately 7.5 units of alcohol per week – about four pints of lower-strength beer/lager/cider per week or 3.5 standard glasses of wine. Ms Dong said: “Rheumatoid arthritis is a typical multifactorial disease, driven by genetic and environmental factors. My research investigates whether dietary factors contribute to the risk of rheumatoid arthritis by increasing inflammation and affecting the immune system.
“These findings offer a deeper understanding of how diet can impact rheumatoid arthritis risk and suggest potential dietary modifications for disease prevention and management.”
While every cup of tea daily increased the risk by four per cent, the baseline risk from drinking tea was low, meaning that even with the 4% increase, the overall risk remained low. The researchers stressed that tea has many health benefits, and people should consider their overall diet and lifestyle when choosing what to eat and drink.
Ms Dong added that more research could help pinpoint how different types of tea might influence autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
The researchers argue that “one-size-fits-all” advice to follow a general “healthy diet” is not helpful for people with autoimmune diseases, instead urging a more tailored approach that fits their specific needs.
A sizeable new population study of men over 45 indicates insulin resistance may be an essential risk factor for the development of the world’s most common heart valve disease – aortic stenosis (AS).
Published today in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Medicine, the findings are believed to be the first to highlight this previously unrecognised risk factor for the disease.
It is hoped that by demonstrating this link between AS and insulin resistance – when cells fail to respond effectively to insulin and the body makes more than necessary to maintain normal glucose levels – new avenues for preventing the disease could open.
Aortic stenosis is a debilitating heart condition. It causes the aortic valve to narrow, restricting blood flow out of the heart. Over time, the valve thickens and stiffens, making the heart work harder to pump blood effectively around the body. If not addressed, this can gradually cause damage that can lead to life-threatening complications, such as heart failure.
People living with AS can take years to develop symptoms, which include chest pain, tiredness, shortness of breath and heart palpitations. Some may never experience symptoms but may still be at risk of heart failure and death. Previously identified risk factors for AS include age, male sex, high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes.
Insulin resistance, which often develops years before the onset of type 2 diabetes, occurs when cells fail to respond effectively to insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating blood glucose levels. In response, the body makes more insulin to maintain normal glucose levels – leading to elevated blood insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia).
In the current study, researchers analysed data from 10,144 Finnish men aged 45 to 73, all initially free of AS, participating in the Metabolic Syndrome in Men (METSIM) Study. At the start of the study, the researchers measured several biomarkers, including those related to hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. After an average follow-up period of 10.8 years, 116 men (1.1%) were diagnosed with AS.
The team identified several biomarkers related to insulin resistance – fasting insulin, insulin at 30 minutes and 120 minutes, proinsulin, and serum C-peptide – associated with increased AS risk. These biomarkers remained significant predictors of AS, even after adjusting for other known risk factors, such as body mass index (BMI) and high blood pressure, or excluding participants with diabetes or an aortic valve malformation.
The researchers then used advanced statistical techniques to isolate key biomarker profiles, identifying two distinct patterns that indicate insulin resistance as a predictor of AS, independent of other cardiovascular risk factors, such as age, blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.
“This novel finding highlights that insulin resistance may be a significant and modifiable risk factor for AS,” says lead author Dr Johanna Kuusisto, from the Kuopio University Hospital in Finland.
“As insulin resistance is common in Western populations, managing metabolic health could be a new approach to reduce the risk of AS and improve cardiovascular health in ageing populations. Future studies are warranted to determine whether improving insulin sensitivity through weight control and exercise measures can help prevent the condition.”
This study’s major strengths include its large population-based cohort and long follow-up period. However, its limitations include the sole focus on male subjects and the relatively small number of AS cases, which may limit the generalisability of the findings to other populations.
The use of biologic and targeted therapies for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) surpassed more typical therapies in recent years, according to Rutgers Health researchers.
Their study examined more than 20 years of data from nearly 14,000 children with JIA throughout the nation.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) affects approximately 16 to 150 children per 100,000 in North America, according to the National Institutes of Health and prior research. This condition leads to chronic inflammation, resulting in persistent joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. The primary goals of JIA treatment are to alleviate symptoms, restore normal physical movement and growth, prevent long-term damage and vision loss, and enhance the overall quality of life. Researchers note that many studies on the use of antirheumatic drugs have focused more on adults with arthritis than on children with JIA.
“Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) can significantly impact the lives of affected children and their families,” stated Daniel Horton, a faculty member at the Rutgers Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science (PETS) and a senior author of the study. “Fortunately, the treatment options have greatly improved in recent years, offering people with JIA more potentially effective therapies.”
Researchers used data from privately insured people spanning the past two decades to describe trends throughout the significant expansion in the available treatments for JIA. Newer disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, while often more expensive, are frequently more effective and better tolerated by patients than older conventional agents.
“Our study provides insight into the evolving real-world treatment practices for children with JIA,” said Priyanka Yalamanchili, lead author of the study, PETS trainee and a recent graduate of Rutgers School of Public Health’s master’s degree program in epidemiology with a pharmacoepidemiology concentration.
Initiations of conventional therapies declined by more than 45%, increasingly eclipsed by the use of newer biologic or targeted therapies. The use of adalimumab, one of the most popular biologics on the market today, has risen steadily since its initial approval for rheumatoid arthritis in 2002, representing nearly 80% of first-line biologic or targeted therapies started for JIA by 2022.
“This research sets the stage for future studies that will compare the effectiveness and safety of different therapies used to treat JIA,” said Horton, an associate professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers School of Public Health and the faculty director of the Rutgers Institute for Health Survey/Data Core, which provided access to the data studied.