I have 2 daughters and am wondering how likely the possibility of they having PsA is? My husband and his sister both have it. My husbands is severe and his sisters mild. Their grandfather had it as well as their grandmother on the other side. I think I have been avoiding this question for a while now but always had it int the back of my mind. I ache a little every time the thought crosses my mind… Anyone else have fears for their children? Can they be tested to see if they will develop it?
I have kept an eye on my children for psoriasis. Even if they do develop it there is only a 10-30% chance of then developing psoriatic arthritis. There are no blood tests for PsA and x-rays/ MRIs seem to be debated. As there are not ests for PsA there are no tests to predict it either. I always say a prayer with my children and try to remind myself that the good genes are more likely to be inherited.
My nephew who has it and is doing medical research in this area as well as like Lupus...says no gene has been found to prove it or lupus or most of all auto immune and arthritis diseases are passed on.
No one else has it in his family and he comes from huge family. I Have lupus...my half brother had some auto immune disease which he died from at age 34 but our mother...is not 87 and extremely healthy. She is healthier than I am in fact! Her mom nor her father showed any autoimmune issues or even RA like i have as well.
You can go speak with Geneticist at your Medical Offices or hospital...your doctor can refer you over if needed and they would be one that could tell you very openly and factually what the truth is about you passing it on. But I think odds are very slim. Plus they Geneticist feel that even if one carries the gene it does not mean you will get it. That something stressful be it physical or mental that triggers it to pop out.
My real sister is extremely healthy like my parents and my half sister who was my brother's full sister is also very healthy. She does have some osteo arthritis now in her early 60's..just turn it...but that is normal especially for one who has been active all her life.
If you are really sick from it...where it greatly impairs your life than i suggest you read a book or two on having children when you have chronic illness and how it affects them. I did that and it really made me aware of hardships that I possibly could be putting on my children if i had them...that healthy parents would not. Does not mean you should not have kids...just makes you aware..and if you have a great support system to step in and help than I think it is all much more better for the kids...more people who are there to love and support them....stronger emotionally they will grow up to be.
so speak with geneticist if you are really worried...good luck if you do choose to have children. Also one point..there is adoption...or foster care..so many children out there that do need loving homes. Really is sad especially the older children. So that is option also if you are greatly worried.
My 10yr old has some minor psoriasis on her knees. My husband has psoriasis as well, much more extensive. So far my almost 6yr old has no such issues with his skin. Truth be told, I don't have a lot more psoriasis than she does, knees and elbows. It's kind of ironic that my husband who has psoriasis all over and is constantly putting lotions and potions on has no arthritis, yet I do.
Learning all I did about autoimmune diseases I am concerned for both of my kids. As I said, my husband has psoriasis and I have a family history of autoimmune disorders. Evolutionarily speaking, these are bad news. They typically arrive after children are born, taking away the option of NOT reproducing, if that is what someone chose to do. So now there is simply guilt over having possibly passed things down.
My youngest daughter developed severe pustular psoriasis on her hands at the age of 5. It took us until she was about 12 to get it into remission. Because of the severity, it being a very very rare form to see in a child, her nails being so badly effected (lost several more than once… but luckily they all grew back) and my dx of PsA… the doctors felt her chances of also developing PsA was high.
At 16 she started having tendon problems. After a referal to the rheumy they felt the recurrent tendon inflammation was likely the beginnings of PsA. The rhuemy put her on celebrex to take as needed. She hasn’t developed any specific joint inflammation to date (she’s 19 now) but she is very stiff in the mornings. Technically she has not been dx with PsA as of yet, they are holding off to see if she starts to have joint inflammation along with the tendon inflammation.
She recently had a thumb nail become detached and has a few nails with severe pitting. We are just waiting to see the dermatologist and hoping the pustular psoriasis isn’t going to come back after a 7 year remission (fingers crossed!).
Try not to be too worried about it. No point borrowing trouble. One thing i can say about it is that kids that deal with a painful condition seem to develope a pretty amazing pain tolerance (not that you want your child in pain!). My daughter has a pain tolerence that astounds doctors when we do have to go to the ER. The only down side is that a “scratchy throat” is usually a significant infection. By the time she complains of something she is usually very very sick!!
I come from a large family. No one in my family had any autoimmune disease until I was diagnosed. A couple of years down the road my sister got RA. Now, a nephew is showing mild Psoriasis. We make about a 1% of the family. So, the odds are good. The Derm Dr. said it is a "white" people's ailment. My daughter married black, so I asume my grandkids are safe.
Hi,
My Mom developed PsA in her thirties. I am 38, my sister 41 - neither of us has yet developed PsA. I had psoriasis about 10 years ago which cleared quite quickly but left me with pitting of nails etc. We recently thought I had PsA but after extensive testing for various things it seems I have M.E., but I don't think its related. Even if I had turned out to have PsA the last thing I would want is for my Mom to feel guilty about it, that would make me feel worse.. it wouldn't cross my mind to 'blame' in fact it would be better as Mom could have helped me through it and would understand more than anyone. I wish you the best for the future and try not to worry about it. Jo xx
I don't have any children, but my grandmother had PsA, she lived to be 91, in fairly good health and mobility really - considering she was never treated for PsA!! She was not a complainer and apparently had the pain tolerance of ...well I don't know what!!! It was not until I was diagnosed with PsA, after her death, that my family realized that with her "bad feet" (VERY bad indeed), hunched over walking and psoriasis on her scalp that she must have had PsA.
I will NEVER understand how she DID NOT complain! I don't know how she did it.
Anyways, enough about Grandma for now... I do know there is a genetic link, but I don't know the odds and people without it in their history can also get it.
My father had P but was never diagnosed with PsA. I suspect he did have it in his feet by the way he had difficulty walking and short steps. I seem to take short steps now. My father had an idential twin brother who had P. His twin didn’t tell anyone, but I found out from his daughter in law who cared for him. I have both P and PsA and my son has P which started in his twenties. Each generation in my family has developed this 15 years earlier.
From what I have heard and read it is a one in four chance of passing it on to the next generation.
I worry a lot about my kids all 9 of them. But not PsA - they are adopted. But Bella is right 1 in four they will get psoriasis, one in 10 after that that they will get PsA and 2 in 10 if they get PsA that it will be anything more than an annoyance.
Such a good question. I have wondered if it skips a generation. My son doesn't show any signs at this point but I wonder if his children might have it. It's very concerning.
My brother doesn't have it but it looks like one of his boys just might.
Sorry...I guess that's not much help.
Thanks for the replies! I guess I should not worry as I can do nothing about it anyway. Just hard to think about after watching my husband go through such terrible flare ups…
I thought I had read somewhere that a gene had been identified for Psoriasis. So I just did a internet check and there has. I just googled genetic marker for psoriasis and there is information about these genes. I did not find a specific one for PsA but if you have P and you are one of the unfortunate ones that develop PsA. Is this not all the same genetics?
siskiya said:
My nephew who has it and is doing medical research in this area as well as like Lupus...says no gene has been found to prove it or lupus or most of all auto immune and arthritis diseases are passed on.
No one else has it in his family and he comes from huge family. I Have lupus...my half brother had some auto immune disease which he died from at age 34 but our mother...is not 87 and extremely healthy. She is healthier than I am in fact! Her mom nor her father showed any autoimmune issues or even RA like i have as well.
You can go speak with Geneticist at your Medical Offices or hospital...your doctor can refer you over if needed and they would be one that could tell you very openly and factually what the truth is about you passing it on. But I think odds are very slim. Plus they Geneticist feel that even if one carries the gene it does not mean you will get it. That something stressful be it physical or mental that triggers it to pop out.
My real sister is extremely healthy like my parents and my half sister who was my brother's full sister is also very healthy. She does have some osteo arthritis now in her early 60's..just turn it...but that is normal especially for one who has been active all her life.
If you are really sick from it...where it greatly impairs your life than i suggest you read a book or two on having children when you have chronic illness and how it affects them. I did that and it really made me aware of hardships that I possibly could be putting on my children if i had them...that healthy parents would not. Does not mean you should not have kids...just makes you aware..and if you have a great support system to step in and help than I think it is all much more better for the kids...more people who are there to love and support them....stronger emotionally they will grow up to be.
so speak with geneticist if you are really worried...good luck if you do choose to have children. Also one point..there is adoption...or foster care..so many children out there that do need loving homes. Really is sad especially the older children. So that is option also if you are greatly worried.
Thank you so much for posting this question! I have wondered the same thing since being diagnosed with PsA a year ago after having my son. I am now pregnant with my second (and feel wonderful, I wish there was a way to stay pregnant forever (as crazy as that sounds) because it's like I've gone into remission and I don't want it to come back after I deliver even though I'm told it will, with a vengeance).
No one in my entire family has psoriasis or PsA, or any auto-immune disease at all for that matter, I'm just "lucky" I guess, so I don't know where it came from and I pray that my kids won't develop it. Although now I always wonder, and worry, whenever my 2 year old says his knee or his elbow hurts if it's just growing pains or if it could be something more.
The good new is that there's whole new generations of treatment coming out now. I bet 20 years from now, the meds for psoriasis and for PsA will get the majority of patients into complete remissions.
Best thing to do would be to see a geneticist and hear what they have to say. I know that they think many of the autoimmune or arthritis diseases can be inherited but they do not have any actual proof. In other word they have not found the gene that sets it off and if so if it is inherited.
You also can read a book or two on having children while having a chronic illness and how it affects your children. I found this very informative for me plus helpful. I was not able to have children since my lupus rejected the fetus every time i got pregnant. In one way i was relieved because i knew in my heart that i could not have been the mother i really would like to have been. I just got sick too much and often.
I do know people with this disease and no one in their large family has it nor any of the children from their siblings, cousins etc. Also, one of them is my nephew who has it and he is now doing research and really seriously believes that in his lifetime there will either be cure or ways to control it much better than what we have now.
So your children really have a positive future no matter if they should get it or not! But if you are worried...one person who could can answer all your questions the best is Geneticist. I know they sent me to one when i was trying to get pregnant and was told...despite my half brother having another autoimmune disease that odds of me passing on was less than 5 percent ...and that was with adding in if it was inherited and she said it was not for sure at that point as far as science could prove at that time...this was in 80's and early 90's.
i was in study since my half brother had similar disease like my SLE...i really do not think they ever knew what he had for sure...we were sick in many similar ways but different also. We also only had mother in common...different fathers so this was really rare.. other environmental factor that made our case interesting is my mom was exposed to nuclear fall out from when they were doing testing in the fifties. She recalled they advised all persons to stay in doors for like week just in case which she did...but my brother was born after that and he was the most sick..than i and i also sick. Both my older sister so half and younger sister who is my whole sister are healthy! so how is that for confusing the gene pool!
They do feel according to my nephew and what i was told that environment might be playing a large part in the Autoimmune and arthritis diseases. So we have to wait and see. But i think your girls like i said have nothing to worry and even if they did...treatment is going to be there for them unlike for us...very little they can do.
so try not to worry and if you do...see specialist and relax! hope this helps you not to worry.
I do not have it and nobody on either side of our families , so then my daughter gets it . her daughter is fine . dont know where it came from…
I am only 24, and have PsA, so i am not too concerned with passing it on since I dont plan on having kids yet (and couldnt right now even if I wanted to because of all the meds). Its interesting to see how many people in others families have it. In my family, my aunt has severe PsA or RA not sure which since she does not go to the dr. and has not had an official diagnosis. her fingers are very deformed but she has a mindset where whatever God wants to happen will happen and will not visit a rheum. I also have one cousin with Lupus. My sister also has an autoimmune disease and several people in my extended family do as well.
There are three ways how you get to have similar illnesses as your parents had
1. you inherit genetical predisposition to develop and autoimmune disorder
2. you learn the lifestyle and diet habits of your parents
3. you share microbial environment (touching the same things, breathing the same air) which is affecting your gut flora health and consequently immunity.
My father had psoriasis whole life , I developed it too (as a result of 1,2 and 3) and had for 30 years it until I changed the diet (gluten and alcohol free). You can not choose your parents ( not that you would want to ) but there are many things you can change.
Hello my worrisome friend - I can so relate to your concerns. I was dx with Psoriasis at age 8 and PsA at 25. I am now 51 and have developed several autoimmune diseases. Thankfully, none of my 3 children have been affected and my youngest is 16. I can tell you that there is a blood test for a factor called HLA B27 that can give an indication if your child may be prone to autoimmune diseases in general. You may want to ask your rheumatologist about it. I have my children seen every couple years by mine, just for my peace of mind. God bless you and remember, you wouldn't NOT have had children, so treasure every healthy day they have. Treatments improve every single day, so they will have better treatments if they do become affected