5 Arthritis Types Most Commonly Affect Women!

Nowadays, arthritis is the most common condition that affects every one out of six women in United States.

About 50 million people have some form of arthritis.

Arthritis simply refers to an inflammation of joints. There are about 100 types of arthritis.

Among those, five affect nine out of ten arthritic cases, such as: fibromyalgia, gout, osteoarthritis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Among those, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis are most common in women.

Arthritis can affect anyone, no matter what your age, gender, or race.

But, it is especially important for women to know about these conditions because arthritis affects women at much higher rate when compared to men.

60% of people who have arthritis are women only. Here are the most common forms that affect women.

Fibromyalgia: This syndrome is characterized by musculoskeletal pain. Usually, this condition is associated with muscular pain, stiffness, fatigue, depression, anxiety and loss of sleep.

Fibromyalgia is a kind of soft tissue or muscular rheumatism. This means, there is no joint deformity when you affect with this condition. Currently 3.7 million Americans are suffering from fibromyalgia.

Sometimes, people confuse with chronic fatigue syndrome as a sign of some other conditions.

Gout: Also called as metabolic arthritis, is a crystal deposition disease hallmarked by elevated levels of uric acid in your bloodstream. About 5 million people in United States have gout. Gout affects women after entering into the menopause stage.

Factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, high alcohol consumption, excessive weight gain and certain drugs can increase the levels of uric acid in your blood thus leading to gout.

Osteoarthritis: Also called as degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis. Among the 27 million people who have osteoarthritis, 16 million are women.

Usually, women can affect with this condition after the age of 40 years. This degenerative joint disease causes damage to your bones and cartilage thus causing joint pain, stiffness, loss of function and swelling.

Rheumatoid arthritis: This condition affects women between 25-50 years of age. However, children can also be affected with this condition. It is a systemic disease that can affect your whole body.

Abnormalities in your body’s immune system make it to work improperly thus leading inflammation in lining of the joints and various internal organs. Sometimes, chronic inflammation can cause pain, deterioration and restricted movement.

Lupus: Also called as systemic lupus erythematosus, is an inflammatory condition, which affects your joints, kidneys, skin and various other body parts. Lupus usually affects women during their childbearing age. African American women are more susceptible to this condition when compared to Caucasian women. Also, Asian and Latino populations can get this condition.

Osteoporosis is also a form of arthritis that causes loss of bone mass and makes them brittle. This condition can lead to painful fractures, rounded shoulders and loss of height.

About 28 million Americans have osteoporosis among those every four out of five affected people are women. Postmenopausal women are more prone to this condition.

Women with rheumatoid arthritis and who take glucocorticoid medications are at high risk of osteoporosis.