Women with rheumatoid arthritis have 50% more chances
of developing lung diseases
Beware, if there is inflammation in joints! As a study
recently warns that people, especially women, with rheumatoid arthritis are 50
percent more chance to develop a lung disease. Rheumatoid
arthritis is a long-term illness in which the immune
system causes the body to attack itself, causing painful, swollen and stiff
joints. It is this inflammation which is thought to lead to COPD –
the umbrella term for diseases from emphysema to acute bronchitis which can
cause wheezing and breathlessness so bad that it can hamper daily activities.
According to researchers, rheumatoid arthritis sufferers have a 47 percent
greater risk of the lung condition, while women with the condition see their
danger rise by 61 percent.
Lead author Dr Diane Lacaille from the University of
British Columbia said, “These findings are novel because it has only recently
been recognised that inflammation plays a role in the development of COPD, and
clinicians treating people with rheumatoid arthritis are not aware that their
patients are at increased risk of developing COPD.” Almost 25,000 people with
arthritis were monitored for over a decade.
The research showed that rheumatoid arthritis not only
affects joints but also lung disease. The authors emphasised the importance of
getting the inflammation under control as soon as possible. Early symptoms
include frequent chest infections and chesty coughs, as well as waking up in
the night feeling breathless. The researchers followed 24,625 patients with
rheumatoid arthritis and 25,396 people who were free of the condition to record
how many were hospitalised with COPD. To prevent this problem say
anti-inflammatory drugs should be given to people in arthritis as quickly as
possible. Dr Lacaille added that the results emphasise the need to control
inflammation, and in fact to aim for complete eradication of inflammation
through effective treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The research appears in
the journal Arthritis Care & Research.
26.10.2017
Knowing yourself is the beginning
of all wisdom
Aristotle
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