ANTIOXIDANTS AND FEMALE HORMONES IN THE ETIOLOGY OF RA

Brigham And Women'S Hospital, Boston MA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The candidate is an Instructor in Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Her research area is the epidemiology of rheumatic diseases, and the social and biological determinants of outcome in rheumatic diseases. Dr. Matthew Liang, Director, Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center (MAMDC), Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard School of Public Health, will be her sponsor and co-mentor along with Drs. Frank Speizer, Charles Hennekens, Walter Willett and Meir Stampfer from the Channing Laboratory and Division of Preventive Medicine. The research training program consists of the two studies described below, Research Seminars in the MAMDC, Channing Laboratory and Division of Preventive Medicine, courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and close review by an Advisory Committee. The goal of the proposed studies is to define the role of dietary and hormonal risk factors in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in women. Specifically, it will test the potential protective role of antioxidants and N-3 fatty acids on the risk of RA, whether postmenopausal estrogen reduces risk and whether menopause increases risk of RA. The study utilizes information from two separate, complementary cohorts, the Nurses' Health Study, a prospective cohort of 121,700 women aged 30-55 years at baseline, followed since 1976, and the Women's Health Study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of low-dose aspirin and vitamin E in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer among 39,876 female health professionals, aged 45 years and older. RA will be confirmed by a screening questionnaire regarding rheumatic symptoms and review of medical records. The study will identify potentially modifiable risk factors for primary prevention of RA.