Arthritis Res Ther 2022 Jun 23;24(1):151. Epub 2022 Jun 23.
Division of Clinical Epidemiology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Objectives: To estimate associations between fine particulate matter (PM) and ozone and the onset of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs).
Methods: An open cohort of over 6 million adults was constructed from provincial physician billing and hospitalization records between 2000 and 2013. We defined incident SARD cases (SLE, Sjogren's syndrome, scleroderma, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, polyarteritis nodosa and related conditions, polymyalgia rheumatic, other necrotizing vasculopathies, and undifferentiated connective tissue disease) based on at least two relevant billing diagnostic codes (within 2 years, with at least 1 billing from a rheumatologist), or at least one relevant hospitalization diagnostic code. Read More