Researchers have found eating foods high in vitamin C can protect people from polyarthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis that affects at least two joints. According to the study, people who ate small amounts of fruits, vegetables and vitamin C increased their risk of polyarthritis.

In fact, patients who ate the lowest amounts of vitamin C increased their chances of developing polyarthritis by threefold over those who ate the highest number of healthy foods. However, there was little evidence linking the consumption of low amounts of vitamin E and beta-carotene with inflammatory polyarthritis.

The study was based on a survey of more than 23,000 men and women in the UK from 1993-97. During that four-year period, 73 people, ranging in age from 45 to 74, suffered from polyarthritis for at least a month. Then, the diets of each arthritis sufferer were compared with two people of the same gender who weren't affected.

The findings also conflict with another report that showed high doses of vitamin C worsened disease in guinea pigs with osteoarthritis, the common kind of arthritis associated with aging.

The conflicting findings could be associated with the causes of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, researchers say. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself whereas osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that gets worse as time passes.

Annals of Rheumatic Disease July 2004 63(7):843-7

News-Medical Net June 10, 2004