Tuesday, December 14, 2021

People With Rheumatoid Arthritis May Have a Higher Chance of Developing COPD

 


Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a 47% higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD.  Rheumatoid arthritis affects 1% of the world and is an autoimmune disease affecting healthy tissue and joints in the body.  COPD affects 6.4% of the world and causes coughing and excessive amounts of mucus.  

A study suggests COPD is linked to inflammation in the body.

In a database in British Columbia, 25,396 people were randomly selected for a study and it was shown that there was a higher risk of hospitalization for COPD in those with rheumatoid arthritis, around 47%.  

Researchers suggest early intervention with COPD symptoms in those with rheumatoid arthritis before irreversible damage is done in the lungs.  

1 comment:

  1. Hi Casey, your post truly surprised me as I did not realize that people with rheumatoid arthritis had 47% higher risk of developing COPD. I know that you mentioned researchers suggest early intervention, but I wonder what those treatments would consist of to avoid the severe symptoms of COPD? This is truly unfortunate.

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