For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lifetime risks for ILD were 16.8 percent for MUC5B<\/em> carriers, 6.1 percent for noncarriers<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n <\/b><\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Sept. 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the MUC5B<\/em> variant is associated with an increased risk for RA-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD), according to a study published online Aug. 3 in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases<\/em>.<\/p>\n Antti Palom \u00a4ki, M.D., from Turku University Hospital in Finland, and colleagues identified patients with RA and ILD from the Finnish national hospital discharge, medication reimbursement, and cause-of-death registries. Lifetime risks for ILD were estimated by age 80 years with respect to the common variant rs35705950 MUC5B<\/em> promoter variant.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 1,965 of 293,972 individuals (0.7 percent) developed ILD by age 80 years. MUC5B<\/em> increased the risk for ILD among all individuals in the dataset, with a hazard ratio of 2.44. Overall, 3.6 percent of the 6,869 patients diagnosed with RA developed ILD. MUC5B<\/em> was a strong risk factor for ILD in patients with RA, with a hazard ratio of 2.27, similar to that of the full dataset. Lifetime risks for ILD were 16.8 and 6.1 percent for MUC5B<\/em> carriers and MUC5B<\/em> noncarriers, respectively, among patients with RA. The difference between risks was seen starting at age 65 years; risk was higher for men.<\/p>\n “This study demonstrates the potential of genomics for risk stratification of RA-ILD and highlights the importance of genetic predisposition on the development of RA-ILD,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry; the FinnGen project, which integrates genetic data with follow-up within nationwide registries in Finland, is funded by grants from multiple pharmaceutical companies.<\/p>\n