October 3, 2007

I Have Rheumatoid Arthritis. What Are My Chances For Becoming Disabled And Can I Do Anything About I

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune, inflammatory disease that affects more than 2 million Americans. It is a condition that is associated with increased mortality (rate of death) as a result of malignancy (lymphoma), cardiovascular events (heart attack and stroke), and significant disability.
The purpose of this article is to discuss the state of the art as it relates to disability.
It is clear that persistent disease activity leads to joint damage which leads to disability. While a patient has active disease- disease that is not well controlled- they will experience some degree of functional impairment. With the onset of permanent joint damage though, disability becomes a significant issue.

How severe is the risk of disability from RA? A number of epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that roughly 20 per cent of patients with RA are disabled within one year, between 32 and 50 per cent of patients by 10 years, and up to 90 per cent after 30 years.
The most sobering statistic is the extent of potential disability in the first year. Disability of this magnitude has an enormous physical, social, psychological, and economic impact.
Basic research has demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a major contributor to the joint damage […]