In the United States, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had steadily declined in both men and women from 1955 to 1994. That ten-year trend led researchers to assume that the incidence of the disease was continuing to drop in recent years. But studies of recent data found that from 1995 to the beginning of 2005, the number of American women with RA increased by nearly half from 36.4 per 100,000 in the previous 10 years to 54 per 100,000.
Research released today from the Mayo Clinic analyzed data and confirmed this upward tick, a rise of 2.5% from 1995 to 2007. RA among men, however, decreased during the same period of time.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that affects the entire system of the body. RA causes pain, stiffness, swelling and loss of motion in the joints. It is an autoimmune disease in which a person's immune system attacks the tissue that lines the joints, called the synovium, causing inflammation and tissue overgrowth.
Researchers have hypothesized reasons for the increase, with possible suspects including environmental or possibly hormonal factors, smoking, diet, alcohol consumption, coffee intake, and body mass index (BMI). A study is set to examine the effects that vitamin D has in preventing RA from developing.
Funded by Arthritis Research UK, research will be headed up by Dr. David Sansom and Dr. Karim Raza from the University of Birmingham. "We have recently found that vitamin D can have powerful effects on the type of immune cells which may cause rheumatoid arthritis…. This study will help us understand a lot more about how this happens. This is the first stage in considering whether vitamin D could be used as a treatment alongside or instead of current treatments."
While there is no cure for arthritis, there are medications and techniques that can relieve the pain and inflammation associated with the disease. New medications are being approved, including the recent Simponi, the first self-administered, monthly, injected drug for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Simponi, also known as golimumab, has shown good success in post-approval trials.
Yoga can be a helpful, non-medical tool and you can also minimize inflammation through nutrition. Beneficial nutritive substances include foods with flavocoxid, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid.
