Decision latitude and rheumatoid arthritis

Decision latitude can be defined as the ability an employee has to decide how they do their job. So people with a high decision latitude have lots of freedom to decide how they go about things whereas someone with low decision latitude has little freedom. Low decision latitude has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and a study of 2,675 people by a group of Swedish researchers suggests that it could also be a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers asked people about their work environment and compared those with and without rheumatoid arthritis. They found low decision latitude was associated with a 60% increase in the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831214018.htm