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Updated: Nov 3, 2025

Establishing a Silicosis Rat Model via Exposure of Whole-Body to Respirable Silica
Published on: October 28, 2022
Silica Dust Exposure Increases Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Swedish National Registry Case-Control Study
Oscar Wrangel1, Pål Graff, Ing-Liss Bryngelsson
1Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Sweden (Mr Wrangel, Bryngelsson, Dr Fornander, and Dr Vihlborg); National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI), Oslo, Norway (Dr Graff); Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr Wiebert); Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm, Sweden (Dr Wiebert); Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Sweden (Dr Vihlborg).
Objective:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease with unknown etiology. This study examines if silica dust exposure increases the risk for seropositive and seronegative RA.
Methods:
A nationwide registry case-control study was conducted that included all cases of RA in Sweden between 2005 and 2016. In total, 31,139 cases with two matched controls were included. A JEM was used to estimate exposure.
Results:
Silica dust exposure was associated with a statistically significant increase in odds ratio (OR) for seropositive (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.40) and seronegative (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.46) RA among men.
Conclusion:
This study found an increased OR for RA in silica-exposed men. The OR was equal for seropositive and seronegative RA. These findings further support the hypothesis that silica dust may be a trigger for RA.
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