Going through menopause makes rheumatoid arthritis more painful, a study suggests.
The national survey found that four out of five women reported that their arthritis worsened during menopause. For one-tenth, the complaints became ‘much worse’.
Researchers surveyed 779 women with rheumatoid arthritis who were perimenopausal, menopausal, or postmenopausal.
The study, published earlier this month in the journal Musculoskeletal Care, also found that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was not effective in helping to reduce symptoms.
Almost half of the women who completed the survey were taking HRT, but only a third said the drug had reduced their pain to a ‘moderate or significant’ degree.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects more than half a million people in Britain and is a chronic disease that causes swelling, pain and stiffness in the joints as the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s healthy cells.
Although there are treatments for the symptoms, there is no cure.
Nearly 93 percent of women reported that they had not had a medical discussion with a doctor about menopause, and the majority felt that arthritis specialists needed better training in how to treat them.
A national survey found that four in five women reported that their rheumatoid arthritis worsened during menopause (file photo)
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that causes swelling, pain and stiffness in the joints because the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s healthy cells (file photo)
Experts believe that the drop in estrogen levels during menopause is responsible for the worsening symptoms.
In a review published earlier this year in the BMC Rheumatology, the authors said estrogen levels play a ‘critical role’ in the condition.
Other studies have shown that women who experience early menopause are almost three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis.
The study authors wrote: ‘Patients believe rheumatology team members should receive more training and talk more about menopause.’