Dietary Factors and Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk in the UK Biobank

April 27, 2026 updated by: Darren Greenwood, University of Leeds

The Associations Between Diet and Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk in the UK Biobank

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory arthritis, affecting around 1% of the UK population. It affects around 400,000 adults and is characterised by synovial inflammation, cartilage and bone damage that requires lifelong treatment and represents a significant burden for both the individual and society. Diet can affect inflammatory status and RA risk, with varying risks for men and women on specific diets. People with low to moderate consumption of alcohol may be at a lower risk of RA. Those who consume lower intakes of fruit and vegetables could be at a greater risk than those with adequate intakes. This research aims to better understand the role of diet in reducing RA risk in men and women in the United Kingdom. The research will use existing dietary and lifestyle data from the United Kingdom Biobank Study and hospital records of RA incidence.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Background:

RA is the most common inflammatory arthritis in the United Kingdom, contributing significantly to increased morbidity and mortality, particularly from cardiovascular diseases. Epidemiological evidence suggests that compared to occasional drinkers, moderate alcohol consumption may reduce RA risk compared to non-drinkers, and occasional drinking. Additionally, observational research highlights the potential for RA risk reduction through dietary modifications, though evidence on interactions between dietary and genetic factors remains limited, particularly in prospective cohort studies. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying potential differences in RA risk between men and women are not yet fully understood.

This study aims to assess the associations between dietary factors, such as alcohol consumption and dietary patterns, and RA incidence within the UK Biobank cohort. A secondary objective is to evaluate the role of potential modifiers in the relationship between dietary factors and RA risk, including adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Townsend index, as well as age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, and physical activity. Additionally, interactions between dietary factors and genetic profiles in relation to RA risk will be investigated.

Research plan and methods:

This study will utilize dietary and lifestyle data from the UK Biobank, a cohort that recruited over 500,000 adults from 2006 to 2010, and linked hospital records to identify incident RA cases.

Cox proportional hazards regression models will be employed to examine associations between dietary factors and RA incidence, adjusting for relevant confounders. Potential effect modifiers such as age, sex, AHEI score, Townsend index, BMI, smoking status, physical activity, and gene-diet interactions will be analyzed by including interaction terms in the Cox models. Causal mediation analysis will further clarify the role of potential mediators. Additionally, inflammatory and immune-related factors, metabolic profile, and genetic susceptibility will be assessed to explore their contributions to RA risk.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

500000

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

General population. Information on the UK Biobank cohort profile is available here: https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female
  • Ages 40 to 70 years at time of recruitment
  • Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to link dietary and lifestyle data with hospital episode statistics
  • Had a rheumatoid arthritis before or no the date of recruitment
  • Withdrew consent during the study period
  • Genetic sex differs to reported sex
  • Outlier diet or anthropometric data (energy intake <500 or >5000 kcal/day or body mass index <10 or >60 kg/m2)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
UK Biobank
UK Biobank. There are no interventions in this observational cohort study.
Other: Dietary patterns
Dietary patterns such as regular meat-eater, occasional meat-eater, pescatarian, and vegetarian; Mediterranean diet.
Other: Food groups and Nutrients
Dietary components, such as oily fish, dairy product, supplements, fibre, vitamin D supplements.
Other: Alcohol intake
Frequency and intake of alcoholic beverages was measured by self-reporting the weekly frequency of different types of alcoholic beverages, e.g., the number of pints of beer/cider consumed per week and measures of spirits or liquors consumed per week were collected to assess consumption of beer/cider and spirits.
Other: Vitamin D status
Serum 25(OH)D was measured once at baseline through a non-fasted blood draw during any season of the year.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rheumatoid Arthritis incidence (first)
Time Frame: Time Frame: Age when the completed questionnaire was returned (2006-2010) until age at event, death, or end of study period (2024).
First RA incidence, identified from all relevant ICD diagnosis codes and treatment codes identified through linked HES data.
Time Frame: Age when the completed questionnaire was returned (2006-2010) until age at event, death, or end of study period (2024).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Leeds

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Darren C Greenwood, PhD, University of Leeds

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 31, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 31, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

November 1, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • fsydo_UKBB

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

IPD from UK Biobank is available to genuine researchers on application (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/apply-for-access).

IPD Sharing Time Frame

IPD from UK Biobank is available to genuine researchers on application (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/apply-for-access).

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

IPD from UK Biobank is available to genuine researchers on application (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/apply-for-access).

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF

Study Data/Documents

  1. Individual Participant Data Set
    Information comments: Apply for access to UK Biobank

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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