Meta-analysis of oral contraceptives and rheumatoid arthritis risk in women.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Epidemiological investigations of the relationship between oral contraceptives and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk have reported controversial results. Therefore, a meta-analysis of case-control or cohort studies was performed to evaluate the role of oral contraceptives in relation to risk of developing RA.

METHODS

Eligible studies were identified from databases PubMed and EMBASE by searching and reviewing references. Random effect models were utilized to summarize the relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

A total of 12 case-control studies and five cohort studies were eligible for our analysis. No statistically significant association was observed between oral contraceptives and RA risk (RR=0.88, 95% CI=0.75-1.03). In the subgroup of geographic area, a decreased risk of borderline significance was observed for oral contraceptive users in European studies (RR=0.79, 95% CI=0.62-1.01), but this association did not emerge in the North American studies group (RR=0.99, 95% CI=0.81-1.21). No evidence for publication bias was detected (P for Egger's test =0.231).

CONCLUSION

Our results of meta-analysis do not support the hypothesis of a protective effect of oral contraceptives on the risk for RA in women.