When you have arthritis, your obesity can affect your wellbeing in a number of ways and according to Marian T Hannan, editor of Arthritis Care & Research, ‘As scientists and people who look to the future, we should be thinking: What are we going to do about that?’ In the most recent edition of the journal there are 18 articles that touch on a cross section of rheumatic diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis, but are the results enough to make you make a change?
One study that the journal reported found that there was a link between ethnicity, obesity and arthritis wellness. The researchers discovered that African-American women with a BMI of 25 or higher, or a waist circumference of 34 inches or larger, had worse disease outcomes over a four-year period than white women with the same characteristics. The researchers surmised that this was partially due to additional factors, such as other health conditions, depression and worse knee pain, and the disparity could be reduced by targeting these factors, though further studies are needed.
Researchers of another found that prednisone medication does not directly lead to weight gain in early RA patients, but as it suppresses disease activity it can lead to weight gain. When RA is active or uncontrolled, a loss of appetite and/or metabolic changes can cause weight loss, so prednisone’s control of the disease, especially when the medication is taken in high doses over long periods, can cause weight gain. According to study author Maud S. Jurgens, ‘Patients’ and doctors’ apprehension to use low-dose prednisone in early rheumatoid arthritis, because of its alleged weight-increasing effect, is largely unfounded, but could impede the start of this useful and cheap symptom-controlling and joint-sparing [drug].’
Finally, an Italian study found that if you are obese with longstanding RA, and are put on anti-TNF therapies, you are less likely to achieve remission than your lighter-weight counterparts. These are just three findings of the 18 reported, but Hannan urges that the next step is to figure out why obesity affects patients with arthritis the way it does, and how they can make their lives better and their disease less severe. She says, ‘We know people can lose weight and affect muscle mass at any age. It’s not easy, but we know they can do it. So we know we can have a positive impact on obesity.’
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