Bengaluru: If you are suffering from arthritis, you must watch out for two major hurdles in the way of your treatment – obesity and smoking. Obesity in women and smoking among men have been identified as the major factors behind not achieving remission in rheumatoid arthritis, shows a study published in the journal, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
“There is a significant rise in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in the country. The autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the joints. There is also an increasing association between increased pack-years smoked and RA. Smoking is said to increase the risk of RA,” said Dr Uma Karjigi, Consultant Rheumatologist, Apollo Hospital.
RA is a chronic inflammatory disease which affects the joints of the hands, feet, wrists, elbows, knees and ankles. The study also showed that RA occurs more in the age group of 55 and above.
Dr Gangi Reddy T.K., Consultant Pulmonologist, Columbia Asia, said, “Obesity hampers arthritis treatment because it is a pro-inflammatory state which increases the inflammatory mediator in an individual and directly affects the knees which need to bear the weight of a human body. Similarly, smoking isn’t good for any part of the body. The toxins released by smoking are again pro-inflammatory.”
Dr Karjigi said that the patients with excessive RA pains are 50% smokers. “Nicotine releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine, tricking the body into believing that there is less pain, till the feeling wears off. Smoking also hinders the treatment of RA by either affecting the way the body metabolises RA medications or by making the underlying disease more severe,” she said.
Health experts stress the need to keep the body fit and moving. Dr Hemanth K. Kalyan, HoD & Consultant in Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine at Manipal Hospitals, said that arthritis is going to be the biggest concern for youngsters in the future, because of their eating and living habits. “The direct and indirect cost of arthritis treatment is expected to be a huge burden on society,” he said.
