New RA research

[Hopeful1]

Found in today's i page 10. Chinese research linking RA and female hormones. Perhaps someone brighter than me can track source and details?

[KittyJ]

sorry can’t find it on there to add a link.

[rmros]

Newly published research showed an apparent correlation between HRT use, early menopause, and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis:

thetimes.co.uk/article/hrt-...

But there is no evidence of causation.

It's also worth noting that the risk of developing RA is fairly low overall, so a 50% increase in risk only translates to a small increased likelihood in real terms. As always, the greatest risk comes from genes - which you can't do anything about - and environmental factors that you can only mitigate to an extent.

But as with all these things, research is a good starting point for helping us better understand RA and the headlines leaping to conclusions about what the research means should be roundly ignored.

[Paula-C]

I've always thought its something to do with female hormones. Some poor women get it after giving birth and around the menopause (that's me), when their hormones are all over the place.

[AnnieJ123]

A link between RA and female hormones has always been recognised dor a long time. I am in my 70s and had RA since my 20s. I was always worse during the week of my period. My rheumatologist said RA often went into remission during pregnancy, but as I never had children, I could not test this out. I sailed through the menopause aged 55, and my RA improved considerably. I completed a recent questionnaire here , about the menopause and RA , and I think sadly my improvement was not experienced by many.

[Gilliancheche]

I read the article and noted I have 4 children and had an early menopause and was put of HRT for a while! My aunt also had RA so looks like the odds were definitely stacked against me!

Newspaper article

[AnnieJ123 in reply to Gilliancheche]

Thanks for this. I must be different from most, but find it interesting.My periods started aged 14 and ended aged 55. My RA was most active when I was aged 28 to 55. I felt so much better after the menopause, which was almost symptom free for me, so never took HRT.I did not have children. For me, there seems to be a link between gum disease and bowel bacterial overgrowth . Other researchers suggest links with bacteria, viruses, stress. Once they understand the cause they find a cure.

[AgedCrone]

look on the bmj.com website…there is a long article

[junik53]

I had an early menopause at age 40 , put on Hrt for many years, had to come off after heart attack at 63 RA became active at age 55

[Bethany02]

WeI wonder if it's just a rubbish autoimmune system? I had an early menopause (39) the nurse rubbished it when I asked if it could be menopause then apologised when the bloods came back peri menopausal, everyone knows their own body and when something is wrong I think. I was allergic to HRT tablets and patches so I used some homeopathic meds which helped the worst of it symptoms wise but I had to give myself a good talking to as was becoming depressed and extremely moody. Eventually the worst passed but even at 60 still get overly hot at times but nothing like the beginning where I could feel the flush going up my body and over my head. Women definitely get the worst of it. Ps I only had one child!