Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are each associated with an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis, independent of smoking and other variables, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

“Antibodies specific for rheumatoid arthritis, like rheumatoid factor and CCP, are generated at sites of airway inflammation,” Julia A. Ford, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told Healio Rheumatology. “However, whether diseases of chronic airway inflammation, like asthma and COPD, increase risk of developing RA isn’t totally clear.”