The famed musician passed away January 18, 2016, from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, and pneumonia.
Chances are good that you know someone who suffers from at least a mild form of the condition. Arthritis is a painful and debilitating disease that often announces itself loudly on a cold, crisp day by generating pain and stiffness in a joint. The afflicted person wakes up and notices that movements that once came effortlessly are now labored, and the morning stiffness means a painful start to the day.
If arthritis settled as a minor problem, most would chalk it up to a matter of aging. But as it progresses, it can infect other joints beyond its initial appearance, and often it has a severe impact on daily tasks and the quality of life.
If arthritis is in a weight-bearing joint, you may not be able to walk, fully sit up straight, or otherwise grip everyday objects. In severe cases, the joints can become twisted and gnarled by the progression of the disease, resulting in a complete inability to do tasks that were once easy.
ARTHRITIS: WHO GETS IT?
There are a number of risk factors which indicate who might acquire arthritis symptoms. While symptoms can arrive gradually or have a sudden onset, here are six factors that could greatly increase your risk of developing arthritis.
1. Those with a family history of arthritis – Blame genetics! Many types of arthritis seem to run in families, making it likely that damaged genes are passed along. That doesn’t mean that every family member is destined to get it, just that these individuals have more of a genetic predisposition. Some siblings may have the disease while others do not.
2. Age – More than just a number, getting up in years can increase your risk of getting the big “A.” The older you are, the more likely the aches and pains will arrive. A sedentary lifestyle can compound the fact.
3. Sex – More women than men get arthritis, or at least more identify the aches and pains as arthritis. Certain subsets of arthritis affect certain sexes more than others. For example, more women suffer with rheumatic arthritis, while men are more susceptible to gout.
4. Obesity – This is a big factor in the development of arthritis, as general health declines are often accompanied by the onset of other opportunistic diseases. The stress on joints by the added weight can cause deterioration in the knees, spine and hips, leading to arthritis.
5. A previous joint injury – If you have injured a joint in an accident or while playing a sport, you are statistically more likely to develop arthritis in that joint.
6. Inactive lifestyle – Don’t exercise much? There’s a large increase in the likelihood that you will develop arthritis. On an age-adjusted basis, 24 percent of people develop arthritis versus just over 18 percent of active adults. About 10 percent of adults in the U.S. ages 18 or over have arthritis to a degree that it limits their activities.
BIG PAINS, BIG PROBLEM
The term arthritis refers to a specific inflammation of the joints when used by medical professionals. But in general, the term covers more than 100 diseases and conditions that can impact your joints, the tissues surrounding the joints, and other connective tissues.
More than 52 million adults over age 18 have been diagnosed by a doctor with arthritis. This doesn’t include the long-term care people or the elderly who are in long-term facilities. Older adults are more prone to arthritis than the young, with close to 50 percent of people over age 65 having some symptoms of the affliction. Slightly more than 30 percent of people ages 45 to 64 are afflicted with arthritis while those ages 18 to 44 account for 7 percent of the population afflicted.
Females of any age account for slightly more cases of arthritis than men, with 26 percent of women having symptoms versus 19 percent of men. When measuring by ethnicity, Non-Hispanic whites and blacks and American Indian/Alaska natives have the most incidents of arthritis, all roughly in the early to mid-20 percent range. Hispanics have slightly over 15 percent of their population afflicted with arthritis symptoms, while Asian/Pacific Islanders have about 10 percent of the population with arthritis symptoms.
3 MOST COMMON TYPES OF ARTHRITIS
The three general types of arthritis that afflict people most often include:
1. Osteoarthritis – This is the wear and tear from overuse of certain joints. This can be a function of age and activity, or can be the result of obesity stressing the joints or a prior injury. The cartilage wears away at the end of the bones in this form, making movement painful as the cushion retreats.
2. Rheumatoid arthritis – The immune system starts attacking the joints, leading to inflammation and joint damage in the knuckles, elbows, or heels. Doctors don’t know what causes this onset and believe it may be tied to a breakdown in the body’s immune system.
3. Psoriatic arthritis – This is an inflammation of the skin (psoriasis), as well as the joints (arthritis). Patchy, red, scaly sections of skin on the elbows and knees are the manifestation of this form of arthritis, which can start as early as age 30 and sometimes appears in childhood. Psoriatic arthritis can swell the fingers and toes and affect the fingernails or toenails as well.
DIAGNOSIS OF ARTHRITIS: HOW’S IT DONE
A doctor will perform a complete physical exam, including taking a family history, X-rays and blood work. But only a few diseases (gout is one) can be identified as arthritis with any certainty.
However, once it is determined that other causes of body aches and pains have been ruled out, doctors will usually recommend treating the condition with pain medications, weight loss, and greater levels of physical activity where tolerance permits. Some rheumatoid arthritis is treated with anti-inflammatory medications (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids), disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) and a new class of drugs known as biologics.
OUTLOOK FOR ARTHRITIS SUFFERERS
Arthritis is more than the mere onset of aches and pains in old age. Data from the years 1979 to 1998 showed that more than 145,000 people died with an underlying cause of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions. Deaths attributable from arthritis rose during that period as well, with 12 percent of deaths among people aged 15 to 44.
Most of the arthritis-related deaths in that two-decade period of measurement came from three sources – diffuse connective tissue diseases killed 34 percent of the afflicted, mostly from systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis. Some 23 percent died from other rheumatic conditions, mostly vasculitis; while 22 percent succumbed because of conditions wrought by rheumatoid arthritis. Beyond the people who died directly from the disease, another 585,000 had arthritis listed as an associated cause.
While there is no cure as yet for arthritis, research continues on stem cells and genes to determine what causes the onset of arthritis. In the meantime, limiting risk factors is a way to help the body avoid susceptibility to the disease.