Currently, there are 1.3 million patients of Rheumatoid arthritis in United States. This constitutes 1 % of the adult population. Rheumatoid arthritis is not the same as osteoarthritis as this condition is caused by abnormal immune reactions that can attack the lining if the joints and also damages other parts of the body.  There are some facts about Rheumatoid arthritis that will surprise you:

• Smoking could lead to this condition- Smoking is one of the habits that can trigger the outbreak of RA. This can be even faster with people who are genetically predisposed to the condition. Such people, if they are smokers, are twice more likely to have an early onset of this condition.

• It has favorite locations- Researchers have noticed that there is a link between RA and geography. People near the equator are less likely to suffer from RA but as we move away from the equator, people are more likely to suffer from this condition. In fact, people who are living at higher latitude and are young (15 years to 30 years) are more likely to be at a risk.

• Vitamin D- The risk between vitamin D and RA is extremely obvious. People who live in the higher altitude get less of sunlight as a result of which their vitamin D production is far less. The decreased vitamin D could result in a triggering an auto immune reaction.

• Air pollution- Hard as it may be to believe, but traffic pollution could be playing a strong role in this. Pollution that occurred through particles could lead to inflammations. A study conducted by Harvard researchers confirmed this. They observed that women who stayed within 0.031 miles had the highest risk of RA than women who stayed further away.

Females are more at risk-   If the studies are anything to go by, and then women are more at a risk of suffering from RA than men. Between the year 1995 to 2007, the number of women reporting with RA increased by 2.5 %.

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