Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have found alcohol protects against the painful joint condition by reducing inflammation within the body, in a similar way to how red wine helps protect the heart.

According to them, teetotallers are the most likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis but its risk decreases the more people drink -- best is to down five or more alcoholic drinks beverages a week, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"Our findings point to the possibility that alcohol may protect against rheumatoid arthritis," Henrik Kallberg, who led the study, said.

The Swedish team came to the conclusion after looking at the results of two major researches involving 2,750 people in Scandinavia, which analysed environmental and genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis.

They found the more alcohol people regularly drank, the less likely they were to develop the condition. Those who drank more than five drinks every week cut their chances of developing it by between 40 and 50 per cent.

In fact, the effect was found to be the same for both men and women in the north European countries.

However, teetotallers had a slightly raised chance of developing the disease, while low drinkers, those whose intake was between one and five drinks a week, had an average risk, the study found.