Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common types of arthritis that has significant impacts on our daily life. So, what is rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis: is an autoimmune disease, when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy joint cells, resulting in inflammatory reactions, pain and swelling in the joints and affected parts. Usually, there are several joints that are affected at the same time, thus, it is often called polyarthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the small joints first (knuckles to hands, toes to feet). As the disease progresses, it will affect the wrists, ankles, knees, elbows, elbows, hips, and shoulders. In many cases, the patient will experience pain in the joints on both sides of the body.

Common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include:
• Swelling, pain, inflammation and stiffness in more than one joint
• Symmetrically affected joints (2 hands or 2 knees)
• Deformed joints
• Fever
• Impaired mobility
• Weight loss
• Asthenia
40% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis will also have skin, eyes, lungs, heart, kidneys affected by this disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis usually divides into two stages: progression – when the disease is severe and painful, the patient will experience more frequent pain and inflammation, and latent – ​​when the disease is milder.

Factors that increase your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis:
Age: The older you get, the more likely you are to get rheumatoid arthritis, especially after the age of 60.

Gender: Females are 2 to 3 more likely to be affected than males.
Smoking: Research shows that smoking contributes to the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

Never had a baby: Women who have not given birth may have a higher risk of disease than mothers who have never given birth
Overweight, obesity: The greater a person’s weight, the higher his or her risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

In particular, breastfeeding reduces the risk of arthritis in women.