Are There Gender Differences in RA?


It is fairly well known that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects women more often than men, but are there other gender differences in the condition? My new slideshow for HealthCentral looks at differences and possible causes for this:

 "There are many individual differences in how people experience rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is possible to generalize some of these differences, especially based on gender. Many studies include that gender as a variable, and this means that it is possible to identify the differences between men and women and how they are affected by RA."

See the rest of the slideshow on gender differences in RA on HealthCentral. 
 

Comments

Rick Phillips said…
I believe almost all of the points made. I do wonder however if there is one other difference? I wonder if men seek treatment less often than women. One message that we say when we talk about the disease being more female-centric is that men may seek treatment or they may not be diagnosed if they do seek treatment. I do not know the answer.
10:17 PM
Unknown said…
I definitely believe there is a connection between my cycle and how I feel. Plus, I would love for there to be more research and patient stories on how perimenopause and menopause affect RA.
6:38 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farber’s Disease: Could Your Child’s Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Be Misdiagnosed?

Image
Joint inflammation or contractures. Nodules (small lumps under the skin or in other tissues). A weakened or hoarse voice. Children with these symptoms may have been diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) or other types of juvenile arthritis . But do they actually have JIA or do they have Farber’s disease? An equine digression When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. This is an adage in the medical world that encourages doctors to not wander off exploring rare and esoteric reasons for a patient’s symptoms. Because most of the time, that hoof beat of a rash likely isn’t the plague, the joint pain more likely a type of arthritis than the bends (especially if the person has never scuba dived) and you get the picture. But once in a while, it actually is a zebra. And even if it’s first identified as a horse, eventually, the stripes come through. It took five years of my parents running around to different doctors before one finally recognized that I had
Read more

13 Things to Know for Rheumatoid Arthritis Newbies + Facebook Live

Image
Getting a diagnosis of any type of chronic illness can throw you for loop. There is so much to know and you have so little energy. My new slideshow for HealthCentral collects 13 things you need to know as an RA newbie : "Receiving a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a moment of strange duality. On one hand, you may be relieved to finally have answers for the symptoms you’ve been experiencing. On the other, it can be incredibly overwhelming to find out you have a chronic illness. Wrapping your head around all the new factors RA brings into your life is a long-term process. Here are some of the things you need to know." See the slideshow on HealthCentral . And in case you missed it, here is the Facebook Live I did yesterday talking about this topic:   
Read more