Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1986 Aug;41(8):596–601. doi: 10.1136/thx.41.8.596

Relationship between silicosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

G K Sluis-Cremer, P A Hessel, E Hnizdo, A R Churchill
PMCID: PMC460403  PMID: 3787543

Abstract

The relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and silicosis was studied by means of a case-control study in South African gold miners. One hundred and fifty seven miners with rheumatoid arthritis classified as "definite" (91) or "probable" (66) were individually matched by year of birth with miners who had no evidence of rheumatoid arthritis. Unmatched analysis of the case-control status for "probable" and "definite" cases yielded an odds ratio of 2.84 (p = 0.0001). Separate analyses yielded an odds ratio of 3.79 (p = 0.0006) for "definite" cases, a non-significant odds ratio for "probable" cases, and an odds ratio of 5.00 (p = 0.0003) for the presence of rheumatoid factor. These results could not be explained on the basis of cumulative dust exposure or intensity of exposure. The rate of progression of silicosis in both the "definite" and the "probable" groups was greater than for the control patients with silicosis, as was the probability of silicosis presenting at the start with larger nodules (type r).

Full text

PDF
596

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bailey W. C., Brown M., Buechner H. A., Weill H., Ichinose H., Ziskind M. Silico-mycobacterial disease in sandblasters. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1974 Aug;110(2):115–125. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1974.110.2.115. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CAPLAN A. Certain unusual radiological appearances in the chest of coal-miners suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Thorax. 1953 Mar;8(1):29–37. doi: 10.1136/thx.8.1.29. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CHATGIDAKIS C. B., THERON C. P. Rheumatoid pneumoconiosis (Caplan's syndrome). A discussion of the disease and a report of a case in a European Witwatersrand gold miner. Arch Environ Health. 1961 Apr;2:397–408. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1961.10662873. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chiappino G., Vigliani E. C. Role of infective, immunological, and chronic irritative factors in the development of silicosis. Br J Ind Med. 1982 Aug;39(3):253–258. doi: 10.1136/oem.39.3.253. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dobloug J. H., Førre O., Chattopadhyay C., Natvig J. B. Evidence for altered immunoregulation in rheumatoid arthritis. Springer Semin Immunopathol. 1981;4(2):125–131. doi: 10.1007/BF01857091. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Doll N. J., Stankus R. P., Hughes J., Weill H., Gupta R. C., Rodriguez M., Jones R. N., Alspaugh M. A., Salvaggio J. E. Immune complexes and autoantibodies in silicosis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1981 Oct;68(4):281–285. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(81)90152-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. ERASMUS L. D. Scleroderma in goldminers on the Witwatersrand with particular reference to pulmonary manifestations. S Afr J Lab Clin Med. 1957 Sep;3(3):209–231. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Esber H. J., Burrell R. An immunologic study of experimental silicosis. Environ Res. 1967 Oct;1(2):171–177. doi: 10.1016/0013-9351(67)90011-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. GOUGH J., RIVERS D., SEAL R. M. Pathological studies of modified pneumoconiosis in coal-miners with rheumatoid arthritis; Caplan's syndrome. Thorax. 1955 Mar;10(1):9–18. doi: 10.1136/thx.10.1.9. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Heppleston A. G. Atypical reaction to inhaled silica. Nature. 1967 Jan 14;213(5072):199–199. doi: 10.1038/213199a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Liddell F. D. Simplified exact analysis of case-referent studies: matched pairs; dichotomous exposure. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1983 Mar;37(1):82–84. doi: 10.1136/jech.37.1.82. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. ROPES M. W., BENNETT G. A., COBB S., JACOX R., JESSAR R. A. 1958 Revision of diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. Bull Rheum Dis. 1958 Dec;9(4):175–176. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ruckley V. A., Fernie J. M., Chapman J. S., Collings P., Davis J. M., Douglas A. N., Lamb D., Seaton A. Comparison of radiographic appearances with associated pathology and lung dust content in a group of coalworkers. Br J Ind Med. 1984 Nov;41(4):459–467. doi: 10.1136/oem.41.4.459. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. SCHROEDER W., FRANKLIN E. C., McEWEN C. Rheumatoid factors in patients with silicosis with round nodular fibrosis of the lung in the absence of rheumatoid arthritis with a note on the failure to induce such factors in animals. Arthritis Rheum. 1962 Feb;5:10–18. doi: 10.1002/art.1780050103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. VIGLIANI E. C., PERNIS B. Immunological aspects of silicosis. Bibl Tuberc. 1963;17:230–279. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ziskind M., Jones R. N., Weill H. Silicosis. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1976 May;113(5):643–665. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1976.113.5.643. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES