Does anyone know what the stats are for all types of autoimmune arthritis in the general population?
I'm wondering because after YEARS of telling me there was no arthritis in my family, yesterday in a phone call my mom casual said my dad's grandfather was in a wheelchair at 40 or 50 with what they then called rheumatism, and that my dad's cousin has a relative with severe RA.
I'm wondering if this is just about how much arthritis would appear in the general population OR if I actually have what is considered a 'family history' for autoimmune arthritis. The relatives are pretty distant, or I would have known about this much sooner.
Grrr, I can't edit my post when it's the original post, all those typos! Anyway, my dad is 86 this year, if that puts some perspective on distance and time for relatives.
I don't know the answer to your question, but I can tell you that I've read there is a genetic component to inflammatory/autoimmune arthritis. However, being the strange and wonderful being that I am, I have no history of autoimmune disorders or arthritis in my family (and I would know, as our family is very close and my mom has done scads of genealogy research as a hobby). I am a mutant. :)
I don't have stats, I am doubtful that they exist, really. All I know is: psoriasis runs in families, usually passed through a male. They are only recently diagnosing psoriatic arthritis, this is a new thing. My dad had it, and he was diagnosed in about 1975 and it was quite unheard of at the time. He had severe psoriasis too. My cousin, on my dad's side has rheumatoid arthritis, my sister has firbromyalgia. I had two sisters die in their forties, so who knows what may have come up for them. One of my nephews has psoriasis. I suppose there was someone in my dad's lineage that had psoriasis or arthritis, I don't know. I have several auto immune diseases, probably all related; Hodgkins Lymphoma, Menier's Disease, symptoms of Sjogren’s. Raynauds Disease (on my mom’s side) , and chronic iritis caused by psoriatic arthritis. I call them “the disease dejour”. There are a lot of people, probably some relatives of mine, who have psoriatic arthritis and don’t even know it.
There is a link. I would be curious about it too, although it doesn't really make much difference at this point to me.
My father had bad arthritis. Never diagnosed as a specific kind. My uncle has RA. My mom has dermatomyocitus
And my grandma had myosthenia gravis. My aunt had a hip replacement several years ago.
So I’m pretty sure my Psoriatic Aetgitua arthritis and other issues I have are somewhat hereditary.
psoriatic arthritis
hip padding worn away
feet ankle problems because of alignment
major pains in pelvis legs and feet.
hypothyroidism
high blood pressure
*anxiety
stress and anxiety
So I so think most if the things we get are hereditary. But if we ate better and exercised some if the illnesses may not ever appear.
I am not at all convinced that any diet would make one hang of a difference in developing these diseases. Maybe will make you feel some better after the fact. My sister has osteoarthritis in her neck, and I have some in my fingers; that is just the ageing process and has nothing to do with psoriatic arthritis. I've been told that I didn't do anything to deserve any of what I have, it's just the luck of the genetic draw. I read that many people have some psoriasis but never know it, in hidden places. Just yesterday my rheumatologist told me he spent a lot of time trying to convince a lady that she had psoriatic arthritis although she didn't have any signs of psoriasis, but had signs in her fingers and nails and other joints. I am a bit of a success story in many ways, so will butt out now!
There are a number of identified genetic links (over 30) and they can be recessive, so they can hid a long while. The most "famous" is HLA-B27 We don't test for it uless there is a problem. There a lot of people who are positive but they don't have "disease" (about 70%) however as many as 70% - 90% with disease are positive. The incidence is about 1.4% about .5% for ankylosing spondylitis. This link is general but a great springboard: http://www.rheumatology.org/Practice/Clinical/Patients/Diseases_And_Conditions/Spondylarthritis_(Spondylarthropathy)/
If you want to get totally confused: http://ard.bmj.com/content/58/10/598.full In nutshell there is a lot of research going on trying to find confirm the presence of autoreactivity. A fancy way of saying that SOMETHING sets off the disease otherwise everybody with the genetic markers would have it.
The article is from 1999. We haven't gotten very far NOT A SINGLE ONE of the hypotheses in that article have been even close to confirmed. Most of those incidentally are the "bacteria" and leaky gut things. That hasn't stopped the quacks from claiming there is research to prove it.
See! I told you tntlamb would have the statistics! :)
I have tried many dietary adjustments to try and minimize some of the effects of this disorder. I went gluten free, lactose free and sugar free for quite a while. I also cut out "nightshade" veggies. Nothing seemed to make a difference. So now I eat what I want, within reason, and just deal with things as they come. There are some foods (ice cream - SAD FACE) that are absolutely out for me, but that is mostly because of a lactose intolerance more than anything else. I went through a period of horrific gastrointestinal issues for a really long time before I finally mentioned the problems to my doc. Ends up I also have IBS...which makes sense. PsA and other autoimmune disorders often originate in the gut. My Rheumy gave me Sulfasalazine to take, which treats the IBS (Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome). It has made a world of difference in the amount of time I'm having to spend in the restroom, so I'm relatively happy about that.
I have a martini a few days a week, eat what I want, try to get thinner and hang those that tell me I'm not doing what I can. I know what is good for me and what is not. I figure I only have one go at this life, so I do the best I can. A gluten free life , no sugar, no fat, and no milk will not save me! I take my medicine, complain a lot, and get on with things as best as I can.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Jennyb! Except for the martini … I’m partial to G&T.
jennyb said:
I have a martini a few days a week, eat what I want, try to get thinner and hang those that tell me I'm not doing what I can. I know what is good for me and what is not. I figure I only have one go at this life, so I do the best I can. A gluten free life , no sugar, no fat, and no milk will not save me! I take my medicine, complain a lot, and get on with things as best as I can.
Interesting Marietta. We can't trace auto immune arthritis or diseases on either side of my family. However, my Grandfather who was Italian and adopted emigrated to the U.S.
I have PsA and my sister has Lupus. A clear connection in our immediate family.
But, you might not know. One thing I have learned is that patients tend to minimize things. Like Uncle Joe could have this little “rash” that he’s had for years, but since it doesn’t bother him, he never says anything. Happens all the time, but that could have been your link. Trust me, people are vague! I take medical histories all the time and you’d be surprised what people will leave out as unimportant.
tmbrwolf329 said:
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I can tell you that I’ve read there is a genetic component to inflammatory/autoimmune arthritis. However, being the strange and wonderful being that I am, I have no history of autoimmune disorders or arthritis in my family (and I would know, as our family is very close and my mom has done scads of genealogy research as a hobby). I am a mutant.
The reason I was asking was because I'm often asked by medical practitioners if there is a history of arthritis or autoimmune disease in my family. I don't know why they ask, is it just curiosity?
Anyway, I've always said no, and am not sure if I should switch to saying "yes", or if the relatives are too far removed and if the two people I recently discovered in my family are within statistical norms for a random sampling of autoimmune arthritis in the general population.
I have had a grandmother with Rheumatoid Athritis.My sister has Lupus. But by chance. My husband as well has PSA and so my adult children have a 50% chance of inheriting it. My son has already been diagnosed with PSA and my daughter has some underlying connective disorder
Quite remarkable really that two people same disease no relationship .
Oh! I forgot my point! My mom had said over and over again that she wondered where my P and PsA came from. My maternal grandmother has Crohn’s but mom says that no one has any inflammatory arthritis. I told her that grandpa had psoriasis, and she had no idea about this and said that he never told anybody about it, and even said that I was mistake. But I told her about how I noticed it on his knees and elbows for years. When I got it and my derm told me what it was, then I knew exactly what grandpa had. When we asked grandma, she acknowledged that he had indeed had psoriasis. We are a close family too, but no one thought about the connection even when I was diagnosed.
GrumpyCat said:
But, you might not know. One thing I have learned is that patients tend to minimize things. Like Uncle Joe could have this little “rash” that he’s had for years, but since it doesn’t bother him, he never says anything. Happens all the time, but that could have been your link. Trust me, people are vague! I take medical histories all the time and you’d be surprised what people will leave out as unimportant.
tmbrwolf329 said:
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I can tell you that I’ve read there is a genetic component to inflammatory/autoimmune arthritis. However, being the strange and wonderful being that I am, I have no history of autoimmune disorders or arthritis in my family (and I would know, as our family is very close and my mom has done scads of genealogy research as a hobby). I am a mutant.
I agree with you guys about diet and PsA, but as far as diet and thinks like BP, cholesterol, and diabetes (type2) I am convinced that diet and lifestyle modifications can prevent this and reverse it in most cases. Of course there are folks who have really complicated cases where their only treatment is medication, but a lot of people can actually avoid it altogether. Every thing in moderation!
I don’t know Marietta. It seems like a lot of people have a family member outside of parents and siblings that have an autoimmune disorder. I would include those more distant relatives too. There isn’t a whole lot known about the genetic component anyway, we’re still figuring it all out.
Marietta said:
The reason I was asking was because I’m often asked by medical practitioners if there is a history of arthritis or autoimmune disease in my family. I don’t know why they ask, is it just curiosity?
Anyway, I’ve always said no, and am not sure if I should switch to saying “yes”, or if the relatives are too far removed and if the two people I recently discovered in my family are within statistical norms for a random sampling of autoimmune arthritis in the general population.
