Osteoporosis and risk of fracture...Osteoporosis is a common comorbidity that affects both women and men with RA, but particularly women after menopause. In the general population, the period shortly before menopause (1.5 years before)...
RA and Menopause...Menopause occurs at an average age of 51 years and marks a period of significant hormonal change for women, impacting a range of organs and body systems, including the cardiovascular...
RA After Child Birth...Even though the symptoms of RA may improve for most women during pregnancy, typically there is a flare of symptoms at some point during the first 8 weeks after delivery...
Safety of RA Drug Treatments in Pregnant and Nursing Women...A majority of drugs have the ability to cross the placenta and come in contact with a developing fetus. Those that pose a danger to the fetus are called teratogenic...
RA and Pregnancy...RA occurs frequently among women of childbearing age and many women who develop the disease during this period in their lives may still want to have children. The good news...
RA and Women’s Health...When it comes to RA, gender really makes a difference. Of the 1.3 million adults in the US who suffer from RA, the majority are women. The prevalence of RA...
Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis...Living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has challenges due to symptoms common with the disease. But lifestyle and dietary changes may help you reduce symptoms and manage the condition. If you...
Social and Economic Impact of RA...RA is associated with a heavy burden on society in terms of disability and health and economic costs. Because RA tends to be progressive in nature, involving a worsening of...
Statistics: Who Gets Rheumatoid Arthritis?...Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common type of arthritis. It is an autoimmune disorder, which means that the body attacks itself. It usually damages the joints and nearby tissue, leading...
Lifestyle, medical, hormones & other risk factors...There are several non-genetic factors, including lifestyle and constitutional factors and medical interventions that have been linked to increased risk for RA. Included among lifestyle factors are socioeconomic class and...
Environmental risk factors...As a group, environmental and other non-genetic factors are thought to account for roughly 40% of the risk for developing RA, with genetics accounting for the remaining 60%. When we...
Genetic Factors and Family History...Experts believe that people who develop RA inherit something in the genes involved in the formation and operation of our immune system that increases the likelihood the immune system will...
What Is an RA Flare?...Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease. This means it is a long-term illness that requires ongoing care. RA can affect different parts of the body. It often impacts the...
RA and the Autoimmune Response...RA is both an inflammatory arthritis and an autoimmune disorder, so immune system function and inflammatory response are key concepts in understanding how RA works, as well as in understanding...
How Your Immune System Works : The Basics...The job of our immune system is to defend the body from invasion by foreign substances or organisms, such as bacteria or viruses. Think of the redness and swelling you...