Arthritis and incident pulmonary diseases in middle-aged and elderly Chinese: a longitudinal population-based study

The coexistence of arthritis and pulmonary abnormalities has long been observed, but the causal inter-relationships among them are still uncertain especially in elderly adults.We extracted data from The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A total of 7534 participants without chronic lung diseases or/and asthma at the baseline and have complete follow-up information were included. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for developing chronic lung diseases or asthma. We also utilized generalized linear models to examine the association between arthritis and baseline peak expiratory flow (PEF).During 50,615 and 51,975 person-years of follow-up, 629 and 188 participants incident chronic lung diseases and asthma, respectively. Compared to those without arthritis, participants with arthritis had a higher risk of chronic lung diseases (HR = 1.54, 95%CI = 1.31-1.81, P = 1.23 × 10-7) and asthma (HR = 1.70, 95%CI = 1.27-2.28, P = 3.78 × 10-4). Arthritis subjects demonstrated significantly lower PEF than those without arthritis [β = - 11.85 (95%CI = - 17.56, - 6.14), P = 4.81 × 10-5]. The results were stable after excluding these participates who incident chronic lung diseases or asthma in the first 1 year of follow-up.Arthritis increased the risk of pulmonary diseases among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. Early detection and treatment of pulmonary abnormalities among arthritis patients could help decrease the mortality and reduce the global burden of arthritis. Key Points • The coexistence of arthritis and pulmonary abnormalities has long been observed, but whether arthritis status can trigger pulmonary disorders is still uncertain. • Arthritis status are associated with increased risk of pulmonary diseases (chronic lung diseases/asthma) among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. • Early detection and treatment of pulmonary abnormalities among arthritis patients could help decrease the mortality and reduce the global burden of arthritis.