Almost three-quarters of women with rheumatoid arthritis suffer from pain every day despite taking painkillers, according to a British-American study reported on the EurekAlert website.
In addition, pain ailments have a strong negative impact on emotions, contacts with other people and intimate relationships of these women.
Such results were obtained by British scientists from the University of Leeds together with colleagues from the Stanford University in Palo Alto (USA) after analyzing the data collected through an online survey in a group of almost 2 people. women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The ladies ranged in age from 25 to 65 and came from seven different countries – Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, USA and Canada. Three-quarters of them had been diagnosed with the disease more than a year earlier, and 69 percent. women judged their disease to be moderate or severe.
It turned out that although three-fourths of the patients took painkillers, as many as 72 percent. from this group admitted experiencing daily pain ailments. Most of them (68%) felt that they should hide their suffering from their relatives, and 67%. she admitted that she was constantly looking for new ways to relieve pain.
Another important finding from the research is that RA has a negative impact on working life. 71 percent among employed patients, assessed that the disease decreased their productivity at work; 23 percent had to give up its performance; and 17 percent go part-time.
Women also admitted that RA has an imprint on their emotional lives – many felt isolated and isolated from friends and family, and 32 percent. admitted that the disease worsened their relations with the closest people.
RA also affects personal life – 40 percent. of patients assessed that the disease makes it difficult to find a partner, and 22% divorced or separated women felt that RA played a role in the breakup.
According to Prof. Paul Emery of the University of Leeds, these results confirm that pain is at the heart of the lives of women with RA, disrupting their emotional, social and physical well-being.
Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the therapy to relieve pain more effectively, increase patient productivity and minimize the impact of the disease on social life, the researcher concludes.
Scientists presented the results of their research at the annual congress of the European League against Rheumatism, which is held in Rome.
RA is the most common inflammatory disease of the joints, affecting young people in their prime – the first symptoms occur most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50. Women get sick on average 3 times more often than men.
The disease gradually leads to destruction and deformation of the joints – first in the hand, then in the knee, shoulder, elbow and hip joints. About 40 percent. within 5 years, sick people stop working and switch to pensions, which is a big social problem considering that the disease affects young people. (PAP)