Is it the mother or the dad that passes it on? I know my own grandmother from my dad side had it very bad, so it was passed on to me
I know I switched the switch on with life style,it might have stayed quiet in the background if I had known what I know now and didn't switch it on, but will never know for sure.
but my question is, would my children have it in their genes?
Hi
My grandmother had severe RA died family young and the fact that she had RA was noted as a use of death on her death certificate, but it was not passed on to my mother she did not have it. However and very unfortunately my two sisters and I have it again like my grandmother a very aggressive form, so looks like in my case it has skipped a generation, from my understanding of genetics this is usually the case so hopefully your children will be OK, I have a brother (lucky sod) that has not been affected so looks like it is also Gender specific. Hope this helps
Kay
If you want to dig deep on this question.🤓
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
And for those who don't want to read through this whole paper it basically says that the genes involved in RA are starting to be identified, and are slightly different for sero-positive and sero-negative people. And that this may help in working out which drug will suit which person best. It says that there is a 60% chance of passing on the susceptibility to RA, but that doesn't necessarily mean your kids will get it, just that they will be susceptible to it. And it also reminds that if you are susceptible then whatever you do, don't smoke!
Oops.
There are so many ifs & buts on this question.....& until these genes are identified we'll never know. Nobody in my close family on both sides had RA, but we are littered with Auto Immune conditions..Asthma, ,Hayfever, Urticaria,Psoriasis, Eczema......years ago no one ever connected those with RA.
But when I was first diagnosed it was one of the first things my Rheumatologist asked me.
Hi Veronica, Its somewhere I prefer not to go!! I have strong RA and other AI in my family line, my husband has no RA in his line, male or female. Hes currently the one with RA. Previously very fit healthy diet and lifestyle etc. Where does that leave our children? eek.
PS. If its passed on in the genes it isn't anyones fault. Its just bad luck.
My gran had it, but none of her children had it, not even my mum. I have 5 grown up children - none have it, nor do any of my 7 grandchildren. It's not on my dad's side at all.
NHS gene test results were not too reliable in my case (I wondered if the use is still in infancy?). In fact, it was a bad idea.
But I had a private one a few years ago and it did come up with quite a few risk markers, which I evidently switched on. I agree that one's lifestyle choice has a lot to do with it. Stress, prolonged stress, in my case. I also had a few immune dysfunctions, either caused by this or congenital. Likely both. I had an early onset. Over another AI forum, there was a discussion if the infant-onset would have caused more damage. I would say (like the lady, who commented on), the longer you had it, I would naturally assume that the damage would be more extensive (and other AI diseases you may have, resulting in combined, neg. effects). Mine was definitely from both parents. Also, they say about the number of children mother had. They do say, the first one tends to fare well. Sadly, I was the last.
I was an "only"& I got it...how's that for bad luck?
Me too !
Me too. My nan who had it was an only one & only had the one child, my dad. I'm an only one too. So the first one fairing well doesn't seem to fit.
Mother was an only child, she had the great mind whilst she also had this AI disease. "The first child is the best one" is an established medical observation, I did not make it up. lol It could be a case of monogenic inheritance (?). Even if you were the first child and you had the best chance to start off with, it does not exempt from AI disease if it makes sense?
Having said that recently, I had seen the concrete evidence that pesticides are associated with RA/SLE. It was published a few years ago. There must be a difference between infant-onset and late-onset.
As a child I had really bad Hayfever & my mother always commented that trees & grass were around way before pesticides ........she made the connection back in the 1950's.
Gran was the youngest of 7. I'm the youngest of 3. Someone mentioned genetics are slightly different for sero-positive and sero-negative people. I was seronegative for 25 years and since became seropositive, so how does that work?
This is a subject often commented on by Mother throughout my life. She was the only child herself. Her mother (my gran) who had AI condition couldn't go through multiple pregnancies. It seems that the disease becomes active post-pregnancy.
It's been known for years that this is often the case.
My Mother was one (sort of middle) of nine children- none of whom had any auto immune problems,........but their mother had Asthma very badly....& of my generation I'm the only one with RA, but my female cousins have a variety of AI maladies....but none of the boys are affected.
For the Asthma my grandmother had some grey powder which she set light to & inhaled the smoke! I was too young when she died (at 75) to understand what these days would be considered a kinda weird thing to do. However she was French......so maybe they still do that in France?
Me too!
The reason I am asking is
my son has severe food allergies he carriess ep pens, although because he had this as a young child he can now in his late 20s cope more foods than he could when he was young.
recently he broke his wrist ,he had to have MRI as its not getting better, to much pain,and on that they found a lump on the other side of wrist which is at moment unexplained, he is having to have an op because of it.
he is young a fit looking
they didn't know about his mother as he didn't think to tell them, he didn't see any link , I haven't said to him, but its got me a bit concered if its the start of RA
he is very fit ,he is at the gym and training out all the time but his life style with food and smoking isn't.
am I right to be a bit concered?
Obviously you are concerned....your child has a problem ...but I know from personal experience the earlier you are diagnosed & start treatment the better.
There is a young men at the health club who has developed RA in his late 20's & he plays tennis & football with his rheumy's blessing...so it is possible to lead a sporty life if RA is caught & treated early.
Maybe his accident will be to his advantage after all. Not that having RA is any sort of advantage, but getting early treatment certainly is.
yes your right, if it is it will be a blessing
I would feel sorry for him though, fingers crossed it isn't
its a hard one because I have loads of grandchildren too, but they are all very young so hopfully by the time they are grown up there will find a cure
Let's hope so...I have seen great advances in treatment in just the last 20 years....during which I have had to learn worrying about which joint will hurt tomorrow is futile.....it used to be they all will, but now it's not many.....so I try not to think about RA if I can help,it. But I do appreciate I am one of the lucky ones.
I’ve got son similar age who’s complained of joint pain & tiredness a lot recently so can understand your anxiety: he worries about it I know as do I but doesn’t want to get tested said if it was he’d just cram as much as he could in now while still fit; probably right attitude. He’s v active too: bikes, surfs, etc etc (clearly not my genes there 😉).
I am only one in my family with AI disease of any kind so that’s a mystery too. On the hopeful side they’re both male so less likely (though I have male friend with RD who gets cross when people say this😊). ✌️X
Being male didn’t help me much...!
😉
Oh no, another one, sorry 😞
Nor my OH!
Persuade him to see his GP and get treated early.if he does have RA he will thank you for it in the future.
Preventing early joint damage is vital....& he might just have growing pains...they seem to make young people tired.
that's something I don't worry about, if he did he would as he nagged me over the tablets, he said, just take them mummy, when I was worried about the side effects!!
Worry or not if he did test positive he'd need early treatment to prevent joint damage wouldn't he?
I started treatment... sulphasalazine I think-before I was even officially confirmed to have RA. My rheumatologist was 95% certain and I went along with his diagnosis.After20 years I have
very little joint damage & I haven't developed any other AI condition along the way.
I want to keep my head firmly in the sand on this one! Even though rationally I know I wouldn’t be to blame if any of my grandchildren were to develop RA, I would nonetheless be implicated and I cannot bear even that!
I have told my daughter to go straight if she gets any joint pain, she already gets that tunnel wrist condition although I know its not linked to RA
she smokes too which I worry about, but has her own mind and a adult so can't make her stop.
but my son having already a Autoimmune problem with food it does worry me if this lump in his wrist joint is RA
As we get inherit 50% from each parent there can only be that percentage that a child will get it unless both parents had it. Then there are ressive genes. Which is really more than I understand. My son has had genetic tests as my husband has a heart condition which is already known to be genetic to protect him as he's young. I'm not sure I want to know really as it at the moment can't be stopped, but hopefully in time it might be possible to manipulate genes to stop the condition completly. But then would that mean we would never have been born if it was ever put forward that its genetically not possable to manipulate only stop the pregnancy to elimate the disease completly. What a seemingly simple queation that is really very complex ! Thank you for this thought provoking problem. My son climbed Everest this year and that was too much of a risk for me to think about. Whilst really fit he like all of us are all vulnerable in one way or another and life is too short to think too much about the what ifs really. And treatments are improving every week too. xXx
Everest! A dream I've had since a kid that sadly will never be realised now. Well done to your son, I'm envious!
It terrified me, kids ! I thought he was joking for months, then he said off to Nepal in May, he packed for 6 weeks in a holdall, had his luggage lost and 3 helicopter trips ! the ensuite in the teashop first stop was a bucket and hole in the ground, and only solar power so no washing for 2 weeks. He looked a pale, no a dark shade of grey when picking up at Heathrow and worst of all he did'nt bring us back a present! lol x
I think there are endless opportunities to worry in this life and if you have children they are usually centred on them. Do what you feel is right re advising your kids and soothe yourself best way you can. Off to soothe myself now.
I think it's only a tendency of RA to run in families. I know of no one in the older generations to suffer from it but both my cousin and my niece also have RA and my sister has another autoimmune condition so I guess we've narrowed it down to my dad's side of the family! Who knows?
Mine (relatives) were too obvious. As some of them lived in an idyllic rural location with idyllic (but labour intensive) work, they had no stress. There were quite a few cases of scoliosis/kyphosis/autism/ other joint deformities in females (the disfigurement pronounced at later years). As a child, looking at them, I thought to myself, would I be like that? I was a little surprised when NHS genetic test didn't flag up anything. Not that I was too surprised because I became unshocked by what NHS does or doesn't lately.
My kids say that they would be happier to inherit my genes (sero-negative rheumatoid arthritis) than their father's (cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease). But as they get a selection of both - so far (51 and 56 years) they are both fit and healthy. So don't over-worry!
I have no idea where my RA has come from, doesn't seem as though it has come from my mum's side, but need to check if anyone has it on my dads side....Although his side is large, I don't know of any relatives with RA. If it goes back to my paternal grandad's side then he had a family prior to the one with my grandma, so don't know much about that side, it could be there and come from him ? Otherwise, I may have started it all off , I don't have anyone to pass it on to, but my niece and nephew may be as risk ?! Does the NHS routinely do genetic testing for people with RA ?
Thanks
It is not genetics alone that cause someone to develop RA, so even if they are carrying genes that make them more susceptible, there are all sorts of other factors, including lifestyle, environment and some sort of trigger.
To give you some idea, if someone has RA, the chances of passing this on to their child is around 1-3%. Also, in identical twin studies, when one twin has RA, there's only a 15% chance of the other having it as well, and they have the same genes!
Some people we speak to do seem to have a stronger genetic link than most, with lots of family members having RA or other auto-immune conditions, but for most, as you can see, it is unlikely that their children will have this disease.
It is therefore useful for them to be aware of the symptoms, in case they did develop it, so that it can be picked up early, and it would be best if they don't smoke, as that's one of the major lifestyle risk factors, but more likely that they will never have to worry. If they do develop it, drugs will be further advanced and it is likely it will be caught early because of the family history, so well worth remembering that each generation's experience is going to be better than the last.
Hope that helps
Victoria
(NRAS)
I know a set of identical twins where one has what she calls Arthur, but her twin doesn't.
We have been preserving cord blood for each of the grandchildren with the hope that if they do get RA or another AI issue, the preserved blood will offer a hope of reversal. It runs in both my mother’s side and my father’s side.
There has been no definitive decision on whether it gets handed down to the children. I am the only one in my family who has it. Though through my genealogy research there have been others who had it included on their death certificates. But that’s great grandparents
This is something that has worried me in the past. So when I had the chance I asked a renowned professor who leads in just this field. His answer was that research so far has indicated that RD is not inherited genetically, but could be familial...I take comfort from that, which is much lower risk factor.
The down side is that he also told me that people with autoimmune conditions often developed more than one
If the professors know this why don't they treat all autoimmune conditions the same way they treat RA to stop anymore coming?
instead they treat each and every autoimmune differently, or would the drug companies not get money and there wouldn't be a need for doctors in that field of expertise? (I might get shot down in flames for this way of thinking but it does make me wonder)
There is no evidence of whether it be maternal or paternal. Because it’s not genetic you can’t tell as yet xx
It has a strong genetic component, in fact, along with other diseases/conditions - not JUST AI diseases. This has been established, HENCE the NHS performing DNA testing on patients. The difference between familial and genetic. It sounds a bit like Russian Roulette, by the sound of it.
I agree with Veronica. We all know, but NHS hasn't been so progressive (yet) and famously known as "reactive" rather than holistic.
Having "arthritis" is known to be associated with the heart diseases. AI is like a tree that grows diseases. That's how I often see it. AI is multisystemic - it affects skin, eyes, brain, heart (e.g. organs), gut, blood components, well, everything.
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