Table 3

Marital status, sexual behavior, and venereal diseases and risk of rheumatoid arthritis, Denmark 1998 to 2003


Women
Men
Both genders





Number of patients/controls
ORa (95% CI)
Number of patients/controls
ORa (95% CI)
ORa (95% CI)

Marital status





     Married or cohabiting with partner
267/352
1 (ref)
116/229
1 (ref)
1 (ref)
     Widowed
12/20
0.65 (0.29 to 1.45)
4/4
2.04 (0.44 to 9.51)
0.91 (0.46 to 1.81)
     Divorced or separated
40/58
0.84 (0.54 to 1.33)
10/41
0.43 (0.20 to 0.92)
0.73 (0.50 to 1.06)
     Unmarried
47/48
1.52 (0.93 to 2.49)
19/17
2.55 (1.16 to 5.61)
1.71 (1.14 to 2.58)
     Test for homogeneity (p)

0.19

0.007
0.02






Lifetime number of sexual partners of opposite sex





     0 to 1
70/85
1 (ref)
16/44
1 (ref)
1 (ref)
     2 to 5
160/184
1.13 (0.76 to 1.68)
51/79
1.74 (0.84 to 3.59)
1.26 (0.90 to 1.77)
     6 to 10
79/124
0.87 (0.56 to 1.37)
36/58
1.62 (0.75 to 3.51)
1.04 (0.71 to 1.51)
     11 to 20
35/63
0.69 (0.39 to 1.22)
21/48
1.26 (0.54 to 2.95)
0.84 (0.53 to 1.31)
     21 to 30
8/9
1.15 (0.40 to 3.29)
6/32
0.48 (0.16 to 1.48)
0.65 (0.32 to 1.30)
     >30
8/5
2.10 (0.62 to 7.16)
10/20
1.16 (0.38 to 3.55)
1.29 (0.63 to 2.64)
     Trend test (p)

0.95

0.21
0.44






Age at first sexual intercourse





     ≤14 years
24/36
0.98 (0.54 to 1.75)
11/27
0.69 (0.30 to 1.57)
0.88 (0.55 to 1.40)
     15 to 17 years
170/228
1 (ref)
59/104
1 (ref)
1 (ref)
     18 to 20 years
136/164
1.06 (0.77 to 1.46)
51/113
0.83 (0.51 to 1.37)
0.99 (0.76 to 1.29)
     >20 years
29/42
0.80 (0.46 to 1.39)
26/44
1.11 (0.59 to 2.09)
0.95 (0.64 to 1.43)
     Trend test (p)

0.62

0.53
0.98






Lifetime number of anal-intercourse partners of opposite sex





     0
273/339
1 (ref)
111/230
1 (ref)
1 (ref)
     1
69/93
0.99 (0.68 to 1.45)
20/34
1.28 (0.67 to 2.42)
1.06 (0.77 to 1.46)
     ≥2
17/37
0.65 (0.34 to 1.22)
14/25
0.99 (0.45 to 2.20)
0.82 (0.51 to 1.32)
     Trend test (p)

0.30

0.76
0.63






Venereal diseaseb





     Never
292/362
1 (ref)
117/223
1 (ref)
1 (ref)
     Ever
67/102
0.85 (0.59 to 1.22)
30/57
1.02 (0.60 to 1.73)
0.90 (0.67 to 1.21)
     Test for homogeneity (p)

0.38

0.95
0.48

Due to missing values for some individuals, numbers do not always add up to 366 female and 149 male patients with RA and 478 female and 291 male controls. aAdjusted for birth year, year or pseudo-year of RA diagnosis, and (when combined) gender. bOne or more of the following: chlamydia, herpes, acuminate condylomas, gonorrhea, or syphilis. CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; ref, reference.

Pedersen et al. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2006 8:R133   doi:10.1186/ar2022