Having tonsils removed during childhood raises the risk of arthritis in old age.
Having tonsils removed raises the risk of arthritis
Swedish researchers have found that those who had the procedure when they were young were around a third more likely to develop ankylosing spondylitis - a type of chronic inflammatory arthritis.
The experts also discovered that people were at greater risk if they had an older sibling, adding further validation to the theory that early life factors play a role in the condition.
The study involved almost 7,000 people diagnosed with the disease between 2001 and 2022.
Tonsil removal was associated with a 30 per cent heightened risk of arthritis.
The researchers concluded: "Having older siblings and a history of tonsillectomy in childhood were independently associated with development of (ankylosing spondylitis), even after adjustment for family shared factors in a sibling comparison analysis.
"This strengthens the hypothesis that childhood infections play a role in the aetiology of (the condition)."