The amount of women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) greatly outnumbers the amount of men, but there are wellness factors that put both genders at risk of the condition. However, there are some risk factors that are exclusive to women, and which every woman needs to know about to guard her wellbeing against RA.
The chronic inflammation of RA typically affects multiple joints, and even has an impact on your whole body. Not only does the inflammation affect the linings of your joints but your internal organs as well, which leads to pain, deterioration, and limited movement. According to an investigative team at the Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Centre, there are certain lifestyle factors and pre-existing conditions that place individuals at an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, and both men and women should take note of these risk factors and when possible, try to alleviate or eliminate them.
Firstly, the authors found women who smoke have a 50% increased risk of developing RA compared with women who don’t smoke. This risk factor seems to correlate to how much smoking you do, and smoking also affects how severe your RA is, and how effectively it might be treated. Also, the presence of diabetes increases your risk of developing RA, and so quitting smoking, and avoiding or managing diabetes through sensible diet, regular exercise, and weight control can help you reduce your RA risk.
Weight control is also recommended to reduce RA risk because obesity alone can up your chances of developing the condition, as well as coping with it. Further, if you give birth to more than two children, you’ll have twice the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis than women who do not have children. And if you only breastfeed your kids for a short time, this makes you more likely to develop the disease than those who breastfeed for longer. According to a study published in the Annals for the Rheumatic Diseases, women who breastfeed for longer than six months are less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis.
However, the good news is that there are two factors which lower your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. A recent study appearing in BMJ reported that women who drink more than 4 servings of alcohol (beer, wine, liquor) per week for 10 years or longer are 52% less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than women who don’t drink. Finally, women in a higher social class (i.e. professionals vs. manual labourers) are also less likely to develop the disease.
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