In a case-control study, researchers looked at the relationship between smoking cigarettes and hip joint involvement in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Patients with (n=103) and without hip involvement (n=89) were included in the study. It was found through a univariate analysis that patients with juvenile-onset AS, younger age, male, history of peripheral arthritis, or exposure to cigarettes were prone to involvement of the hip. Following the adjustment for cofounding factors, researchers found that both juvenile-onset AS and smoking cigarettes were independently linked to AS hip involvement. Researchers concluded that the exposure of smoking even less than 10 pack-years may contribute to a heightened prevalence of AS hip involvement.
Reference: Hu Z, Li Y, Hu L, et al. Cigarette Smoking Increases the Prevalence of Hip Joint Involvement in Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Real-World Case-Control Study [published online ahead of print, 2023 Jan 15]. J Rheumatol. 2023;jrheum.220609. doi:10.3899/jrheum.220609
Link: https://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2023/02/08/jrheum.220609
