Causes of Arthritis that may shock you

Here are some suprising causes of arthritis

Arthritis is a disease that can affect anyone, at any given point of time. While aging can be a significant risk factor, there are cases wherein people below the age of 65 develop the condition, some even in their 30s. As bizarre as it may sound, arthritis in children is also a common phenomenon known as childhood arthritis or juvenile arthritis - the most common type being juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

As per Global RA Network, 2021, more than 350 million people around the world, which is quite concerning, since there is no specific way to determine why it is caused to begin with. However let us delve deeper into the common types and its causes.

Common types of arthritis you should know about

Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints, a common disorder that causes pain and discomfort. It may occur in your feet, hands, hips, knees, lower back and other parts of the body too.

That said, arthritis is an umbrella term for more than 100 different joint problems. However, some of the most common types of arthritis are as follows:

Osteoarthritis - This condition occurs when the joints are overused, leading to "wear and tear".

Rheumatoid Arthritis - RA is an autoimmune disease, wherein the immune system attacks different parts of the body, especially the joints.

Psoriatic Arthritis - Those suffering with psoriatic arthritis experience inflammation of the skin and joints.

Gout - This condition is an outcome of uric acid crystals formation in a joint.

Juvenile arthritis - Juvenile arthritis is a disorder that affects children 16 or younger.. It is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the tissue around joints.

Given that arthritis can be of many types, the causes can vary from person to person, who're dealing with a particular type of disease.

A family history of autoimmune diseases makes you more prone to Rheumatoid arthritis

As mentioned above, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that occurs when your body’s immune system becomes "confused" after an infection and attacks the tissues of the body, leading to inflammation of the joints. This further spreads to other parts of the body, causing more damage than ever. While the exact cause of this condition is yet to be confirmed, experts believe that a family history of RA or other autoimmune diseases can make a person more prone to this condition.

Being obese can be a risk factor

One of the most common type of arthritis is Osteoarthritis, which is caused when the joints are overused and lead to wear and tear. While is commonly an outcome of aging, it can also occur due to obesity.

According to experts, being obese can be a significant cause of osteoarthritis, since condition is said to put on a lot of pressure on the joints. Joint areas that bear the most weight such as the hips, feet, knees, are the most common places in the body that are affected. Symptoms may include, pain in the joints, pain while walking, stiffness even when resting, and the inability to go about daily activities like dressing, combing your hair, climbing stairs and more.

Repetitive stress on the joints or injuries may lead to arthritis

When your joints begin to wear and tear, it means you're suffering with osteoarthritis. While age is the most common risk factor for this condition, a certain joint injury that breaks down the cartilage tissues can also cause osteoarthritis. Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue that helps protect the joints from excessive external pressure. However, once it starts to wear, it may weaken the joints.

Smoking or physical inactivity can increase your risk of the disease

Lifestyle factors can also cause arthritis. Smoking and/or leading a sedentary lifestyle are believed to make you more prone to different types of arthritis. While there is no conclusive evidence, smoking is said to reduce immune functions, which is further linked to the development of rheumatoid arthritis. That said, for those who already have the condition, smoking may worsen the symptoms and prognosis, as reported in a 2014 study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Air pollution is as bad as following a high-fat diet: It ups your risk of diabetes too

The effects of air pollution are many and continuous exposure can lead to a range of health conditions like respiratory ailments, hypertension and many more. Today, in fact, this has become one of the major concerns in many countries across the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also warned that air pollution is bad as tobacco in terms of affecting your lungs. Polluted air adds toxins like nitrogen oxide, ozone, particulate matter and many other hazardous substances to our lungs and makes them more vulnerable to contracting infections. Some of these particles may enter the bloodstream and cause damage to your organs too. Scientists have for long been studying the effects of environmental toxins on health and ways to overcome them.

Now, a new study at the University Hospitals Harrington in the US has found that air pollution can play a major role in the development of cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. This study, published in the Journal of Clinical, discovered that air pollution was a risk factor that contributed majorly to the risk factors of many other fatal problems like heart attack and stroke.

Environmental pollution linked to heart disease, diabetes

For the purpose of the study researchers created an environment that mimicked a polluted day in New Delhi or Beijing. They concentrated fine particles of air pollution called PM2.5. Concentrated particles like this develop from human impact on the environment, such as automobile exhaust, power generation and other fossil fuels. These particles have been strongly connected to risk factors for disease. For example, the cardiovascular effects of air pollution can lead to heart attack and stroke. The research team was able to prove that exposure to air pollution can increase the likelihood of the same risk factors that lead to heart diseases, such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes by conducting experiments on mice.

Air pollution, high-fat diet increases insulin resistance

Researchers observed 3 groups of mice – a control group receiving clean filtered air, a group exposed to polluted air for 24 weeks, and a group fed a high-fat diet. They saw that being exposed to air pollution was comparable to eating a high-fat diet. Both the air pollution and high-fat diet groups showed insulin resistance and abnormal metabolism – just like one would see in a pre-diabetic state. These changes were associated with changes in the epigenome, a layer of control that can masterfully turn on and turn off thousands of genes, representing a critical buffer in response to environmental factors.

Good news is that the risk can be reversed

This study is the first-of-its-kind to compare genome-wide epigenetic changes in response to air pollution, compare and contrast these changes with that of eating an unhealthy diet, and examine the impact of air pollution cessation on these changes. According to researchers, these effects were reversible, at least in the experiments. Once the air pollution was removed from the environment, the mice appeared healthier and the pre-diabetic state seemed to reverse.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement