OBESITY- AN IMPORTANT ASPECT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

OBESITY HAS BECOME A WORLDWIDE PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM, BEING RECOGNIZED BY WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) IN 1995 AS A GLOBAL EPIDEMIC. IT’S IMPACT IS WID ELY RECOGNIZED DUE TO IT’S ASSOCIATION WITH METABOLIC AND/OR CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS. RHEUMATOID A RTHRITIS (RA) IS AN INFLAMMATORY DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY JOINT DESTRUCTION AND WHICH BY ITS AUTOIMMUNE CHARACTER PRESENTS ALSO A SYSTEMIC AFFECTION WITH A STRONG IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE 8 MANY SPECIALTY LITERATURE DATA INDICATE THAT THE PREVALENCE OF O BESITY IS HIGHER IN PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS THAN IN GENERAL POPULATION. ALSO OBESITY HAS BEEN OBSERVED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF DISEASE ACTIVITY AND POOR TREATMENT RESPONSE, BUT ALSO WITH A DECREASED RISK OF JOINT DAMAGE AND LOWER MORTALITY.9

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