More human hazards of over-lubrication

No, we’re not talking about drinking, unless your favorite brew is 10W40. A new research study has shown that occupational exposure to mineral oils, in particular hydraulic or motor oil, increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by 30 percent.

The Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, studied 1,419 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) between May 1996 and December 2003, and matched them with a control group of 1,674 people of the same age, gender and residential area. Shortly after they had been diagnosed with RA, the study subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding occupational exposure to different types of mineral oils such as cutting oil, motor oil, form oil, hydraulic oil and asphalt.

Only men reported high occupational exposure to oil, mostly motor and hydraulic oil. From the original sample of 3,093 subjects, a field was narrowed to 135 men with RA who reported high exposure, and 132 matching controls.

The study results show that men highly exposed to motor or hydraulic oil have a 30 percent higher risk of developing RA than unexposed men. Exposure only increased the risk of developing ‘rheumatoid factor positive’ (RF+) rheumatoid arthritis, a more severe form of RA. It didn’t increase the risk of developing rheumatoid factor negative (RF-) rheumatoid arthritis.

Exposure to oil is also linked to a 60 percent increased risk of developing ‘anti-citrulline positive’ (anti-CP+) rheumatoid arthritis, another type of the disease.

The Karolinska Institutet arthritis study was published in the online edition of Arthritis Research & Therapy. Its full text can be found online at:
http://arthritis-research.com/content/7/6/R1296.

This article appeared in the February/March 2006 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright 2006.

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