More Women Are Affected by Arthritis

¶ … Women and Arthritis

The health issue selected for this assignment is arthritis. The population which arthritis affects is women (CDC, 2011). There are more women affected by arthritis than there are men affected by this condition. As such, arthritis is a social problem for this population because it is not uncommon for women -- particularly older women -- to experience symptoms pertaining to this condition. There is a substantial amount of the population of women that is inflicted with arthritis. In fact, this health issue is a problem for such women because the symptoms predominantly relate to feelings of pain experienced in joints. It is possible for those with arthritis to feel these symptoms of pain in their backs, hands, knees, and other areas of the body in which their joints are. Additionally, arthritis is a particular social problem for women because there are a number of different varieties of this condition. Forms of arthritis include osteoarthritis, autoimmune arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, infectious arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Arthritis types are generally stratified into the inflammatory vs. The non-inflammatory variety. One of the truly pressing reasons why arthritis is considered such a problem for this population is because its causes are largely unknown. Scientists and health care professionals know what the sources of pain are, but they are markedly less clear on why the human body initiates these symptoms of pain. Moreover, there are a number of different ways to cope with the pain of arthritis, but at present there is no lasting cure or panacea.

There are several indicators that are intrinsically related to arthritis and which are contributing factors to health disparities in the observed population of women. In terms of prevalence, approximately 23% of adults in the United States have arthritis; it is significant, however, that 26% of women are affected by this condition whereas less than 20% of men are affected by it (CDC, 2014). There were approximately 150,000 deaths attributed to arthritis between 1979 and 1998; these deaths included disproportionately high rates of women and African-Americans (CDC, 2014). In 2004, there were nearly four and a half million indvidiuals who were hospitalized due to arthritis as either a primary or a secondary cause; the vast majority of these (3.5 million) listed arthritis as a secondary cause (American Academy, 2008, p. 13). The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis was "41 per 1,000 people) from 1995-2007 (CDC, 2011); co-morbidities for this condition include cardiovascular diseases, mental health conditions, malignancies and infections (CDC, 2011). Thus, it becomes apparent that women are considerably at risk for a number of different dangers (including hospitalization and other malfeasances that function as co-morbidities) associated with arthritis -- especially since they are more likely than men to have this condition. Additionally, arthritis results in a lower quality of life because its patients must constantly deal with the pain it causes.