Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Rheumatoid arthritis is more than just arthritis. Indeed, many doctors call it "rheumatoid disease" to emphasize the widespread nature of this process. The term rheumatoid arthritis is trying awkwardly to say the same thing; rheumat refers to the stiffness, body aching, and fatigue that are often termed "rheumatism." "Rheumatoid" means "like rheumatism." Patients with RA often describe feeling much like they have a virus, with fatigue and aching in the muscles, except that, unlike a usual viral illness, the condition may persist for months or years.
About 0.5% of our population has rheumatoid arthritis, some 1 million individuals in the United States. Most of these people (about three-quarters) are women. The condition usually appears in middle life, in the forties or fifties, although it can begin at any age. Rheumatoid arthritis has been medically identified for about 200 years. Bone changes in the skeletons of some Mexican Indian groups suggest that the disease may have been around for thousands of years. Many, but not all, patients with RA have a particular set of genes that predispose to development of RA. Only about 1 out of 30 person with these genes actually gets rheumatoid arthritis, so the disease seldom affects more than one family member. (Silvano Arieti, Morton F. Reiser, 1975).
Because RA is so common and can sometimes be severe, it is a major national health problem. It can result in difficulties with employment, can cause problems with daily activities, and can severely strain family relationships. In its most severe forms, and without good medical treatment, it can result in deformities of the joints and severe disability. Fortunately, many people with RA do well and lead essentially normal lives. Fear of rheumatoid arthritis, sometimes greatly exaggerated, can be as harmful as the disease itself........
