Arthritis in women

Doctors have long announced that arthritis is much more pronounced in women because of its more delicate bone structure , which is a major factor in their being more prone to this disease . Let's see what arthritis is like in women, and what other factors lead to the certainty that it affects more women than men.

What is arthritis? rheumatoid

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints . In autoimmune diseases, the immune system tries to destroy healthy tissue in the body for unknown reasons. With RA, the immune system attacks the lining of the joints, which causes joints to swell, swell and hurt . However, arthritis is systemic, which means it can affect other areas of the body as well as the joints.

According to data from worldwide studies, rheumatoid arthritis affects both men and women, but they are the ones with the highest risk of suffering from this disease. In fact, it affects one in four women, compared to one in five men.

Arthritis in women

According to research carried out, women between 30 and 50 years old are those who can be most affected by arthritis , you could even say that they suffer twice as much as the men who suffer it. This is compounded by the fact that those women who have had children , may be at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in the future given that during pregnancy the immune system decreases in favor of the development of the fetus.

In this way we can say that it is not a disease that is exclusive of a mature or old age . Arthritis can affect women of any age. The average may be between 30 and 50 years, but also can suffer teenagers , because the hormonal changes of puberty make them more vulnerable. In addition, women with menopause may also have a weakened immune system and may end up suffering from RA.

Why women are more likely to have arthritis?

Studies around the world have shown that women are more at risk for rheumatoid arthritis , but while women are said to have "bones" More lax "than men the truth is that it is not like that, but has a lot to do with the role that hormones play.

Normally, women have an immune system that It is stronger than men, so that they resist infections better, but in turn " have a greater risk of the immune system becoming a little crazy and attacking itself", according to explains Kathryn Sandberg, director of the Center for the Study of Gender Differences in Health, Old Age and Central Illness Doctor of the Georgetown University, in EE. This is why women suffer from osteoarthritis , which is the most common form of arthritis, influencing the risk of suffering from it according to age, weight and the level of trauma of the joints.Among the main symptoms we have to start to hurt the joints to later start to swell and feel stiff . The worst is that sometimes affects other parts of the body, making the person can not even walk, -being one of its most serious consequences-, or causing him to suffer a lot doing so because of the intense pain.

On the other hand, women with arthritis tend to suffer from rheumatoid nodules that meet with more often in the elbows, but they can be found in other areas of the body, such as the fingers, on the spine or on the heels. In general, they are painless and can appear alone or in groups.

This is how after reviewing 6 thousand patients from several countries, it was suggested that when women described the symptoms they suffer, they were be much more serious than those suffered by men, despite being talking about the same disease .

Those responsible for research say that this difference is due to the lack of reaffirm muscles and physical strength in women, being the cause of feeling more painful arthritis .

Prevention of arthritis in women

Doctors and experts that women take prevention of rheumatoid arthritis. For this, it is important that they can carry a healthy lifestyle, so that they can avoid especially overweight and obesity.

Neither will it be good to have a sedentary lifestyle or smoking, as these are risk factors that could increase the risk of suffering from this type of diseases that on the other hand, are chronic and how we saw, can be manifested even at a young age. We also take care of bacteria or viral infections, as some of these, such as chikungunya or zika, can lead to an AR problem.

Doctors also recommend that women of reproductive age , use oral contraceptives, as these, together with the indicated measures, can protect us from AR.

The early diagnosis , as we have mentioned is also a factor that we must take into account when it comes to preventing arthritis. The sooner we put ourselves in the hands of the doctor, to treat us with drugs, physiotherapy, or even surgery, before we can stop the progress of the RA. Maybe the disease has no cure but it can be treated and in some way, palliated.

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