Introduction
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease caused by inflammation in the body. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immunity mistakenly targets healthy cells in the body. Rheumatoid arthritis mostly attacks joints like wrists, hands, and knees. When a joint has RA, its linings are inflamed, causing damage, chronic pain, deformity, and lack of balance (Mayo Clinic). Apart from the joints, other tissues in the body that RA can attack include the heart, lungs, and eyes.
Discussion
Like every other disease, RA has signs and symptoms: it flares or gets worse and remiss or gets better depending on different factors. The signs include aching or pain, stiffness, tenderness, and swelling in at least two joints (Mayo Clinic). These symptoms normally appear on both sides of the body, for example, in both knees or in both hands. The other symptoms associated with RA include fever, weight loss, fatigue or tiredness, and weakness.
Even though there are no known causes of RA, certain genetic and environmental factors can increase the risk of developing it. They include age, sex, inherited traits, smoking, early life exposures, and obesity. Even though rheumatoid arthritis can begin at any age, its likelihood increases with age, with adults in their sixties experiencing the highest rates of its onset. Concerning gender or sex, researchers have noted that new cases of RA are two to three times as many in women compared to men (Mayo Clinic). Genetically, people who are born with particular genes like human leukocyte antigen class 11 genotypes have increased chances of developing RA.
Early life exposures, for example, smoking in mothers or children whose parents are from low-income areas, increases the risk of RA in adulthood. Another important risk factor is a history of live births: women who have given birth are at a lower risk of developing RA than those who have never given birth. Moreover, according to the findings of several studies, the risk of developing RA increases with an increasing degree of obesity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Unlike the above-mentioned risk factors, breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the chances of developing RA. A woman who breastfeeds her infants has a decreased likelihood of developing RA.
Due to its nature, RA has many social and physical consequences, essentially lowering the quality of life by causing pain and disability, consequently leading to premature death. Some of the complications that arise from RA are chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. It is possible to reduce the chances of developing these chronic ailments by reducing the risk factors. For example, doctors normally advise people suffering from RA to abstain from smoking, eat healthy foods, exercise, drink sufficient water, get enough weight, and shed excess weight.
People with RA and suffering from obesity are a high risk of developing high cholesterol and hypertension, which are risk factors for heart disease. Such people are, therefore, at an increased risk of developing chronic ailments like diabetes and heart disease. Moreover, an RA patient who is obese gets fewer benefits from medical treatment when compared to those with RA but not obese. Lastly, people with RA find it very difficult to work and are less likely to be employed than those who do not have RA. Studies show that work loss is highest among people with RA with physically demanding jobs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Conclusion
It is, therefore, important for healthcare personnel to educate people on how to reduce the risk factors of RA in order to lower the chances of developing the disease and avoid its debilitating effects.
Works Cited
Centers for Disease Control and Preventions. “Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)”. CDC, 2020, Web.
Mayo Clinic. “Rheumatoid Arthritis – Symptoms and Causes”. Mayo Clinic, 2022, Web.