People who smoke even a few cigarettes a day are at an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a new study indicates.

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.

Swedish scientists analysed data relating to 34,000 women aged between 54 and 89 and found that even a few cigarettes a day increased the risk of RA.

In fact, those who smoked between one and seven cigarettes per day doubled their risk of going on to develop the painful disease.

Furthermore, the number of years a person smoked also played a role, with those who smoked longer having a bigger risk of developing RA.

The scientists did note that quitting smoking reduced the risk and this reduction continued over time. Fifteen years after quitting, a person's risk of developing RA had fallen by one-third. However, when compared with people who had never smoked, even 15 years after quitting, the risk of RA was still significantly higher.

"Stopping smoking is important for many health reasons, including the increased risk of RA for smokers. But the clearly increased risk of developing RA, even many years after giving up, is another reason to stop smoking as soon as possible, and highlight the importance of persuading women not to start at all," the team said.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Arthritis Research & Therapy.

For more information on RA, see our RA Clinic here