Motor oil linked to arthritis

Bikers beware. In one of those strange but true pieces of research, a link has been found between motor and hydraulic oils and arthritis.

According to Arthritis Research & Therapy exposure to mineral oil, primarily motor or hydraulic oil, increased the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) among men by 30%.

The study sample was relatively small — less than 300 — and all the men concerned came from southern Sweden but the findings confirm those from animal studies showing that these oils induce arthritis.

Exposure only increased the risk of RA in men who were already susceptibe to the disease — that is, those whose blood tests were positive for rheumatoid factor and anti-citrulline, two of the tests often used to help diagnose RA.

Although the joints are affected, RA is primarliy a disease of the immune system where the body's natural defences begin to turn on themselves. It is this that causes the inflammation and pain in joints. Affecting some 1% of the population, it is less common than osteoarthritis but usually begins at an earlier age.