Women who breastfeed their children may be less likely to go on to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a new study suggests.

RA is a chronic and often painful disease affecting the joints, causing them to become inflamed. An inflamed joint looks swollen and red and appears warm to touch. This inflammation can lead to permanent damage in the joints if the disease is not treated. Around 40,000 people in Ireland are affected.

While breastfeeding is known to offer many health benefits to mothers and their children, studies on breastfeeding and RA have so far been inconclusive. Chinese scientists decided to investigate this further.

They analysed data relating to over 7,300 women aged 50 years or older. These women had their children before China introduced its one-child policy. The data included details on the women's health, lifestyle, pregnancy and childbirth history and breastfeeding history.

The women were also assessed for signs of RA.

Most of the women had at least one child and among these, 95% had breastfed their child for at least a month. The average age of the women at the time of their first pregnancy was 24 and among those found to have RA, their average age at the time of diagnosis was 47.

The study found that among women who had given birth at least once, their risk of RA was halved if they had ever breastfed a child. Furthermore, the longer a woman breastfed for, the lower the risk of RA.

The results stood even when other factors that may have affected the findings were taken into account.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Rheumatology.

For more information on RA, see our RA Clinic here