In women, ankylosing spondylitis can affect areas other than the spine and may progress more slowly — making it more difficult to get an accurate diagnosis. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has traditionally been considered a disease that affects mostly men — yet in reality, it also affects many women.
While the earliest studies of the disease put the incidence rate in men compared with women at about 10 to 1, more recent research shows that the rates are closer to equal for men and women, according to the Spondylitis Association of America (SAA).
Male AS patients more frequently show a higher Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiology Index (BASRI) scores and modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Scores (mSASSS) than females, which indicates that males have higher radiological damage and radiographic progression.
The newer spondylitis classification system categorizes spondylitis into two main types according to where in the body the disease occurs. The two types are peripheral spondyloarthritis and axial spondyloarthritis.
Ankylosing spondylitis has no known specific cause, though genetic factors seem to be involved. In particular, people who have a gene called HLA-B27 are at a greatly increased risk of developing ankylosing spondylitis. However, only some people with the gene develop the condition.
In 2009, two new classification terms were introduced: axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA) and peripheral spondyloarthritis (peripheral SpA). The new terms do not replace the traditional, specific spondyloarthritis diagnoses (e.g. ankylosing spondylitis).
Ankylosing spondylitis is an autoimmune disease and is a type of arthritis of the spine. It causes swelling between your vertebrae, which are the disks that make up your spine, and in the joints between your spine and pelvis. The disease is more common and more severe in men. It often runs in families.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses energy from a powerful magnet to produce signals that create a series of cross-sectional images. These images or “slices” are analyzed by a computer to produce an image of the joint. MRI can help diagnose ankylosing spondylitis in the early stages of the disease.
Read on to learn about why ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is hard to diagnose, and how AS is related to other autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.
Can ankylosing spondylitis be inherited? AS can run in families, and the HLA-B27 gene variant can be inherited from another family member. If you have AS and tests show you carry the HLA-B27 gene variant then there is a 1 in 2 chance that you could pass on the gene variant to any children you have.
Many people with ankylosing spondylitis have mild episodes of back pain and stiffness that come and go. But others have severe, ongoing pain with loss of flexibility in the spine. In addition, other symptoms may develop depending on which other areas of the body are affected by the disease.
According to the Spondylitis Association of America, people typically develop AS between 17 and 45 years of age. Most people develop AS in their 20s and 30s. In a 2022 study, the average age of onset worldwide was 26.
Chronic back pain and progressive spinal stiffness are the most common features of the disease.
There are no specific lab tests to identify ankylosing spondylitis. Certain blood tests can check for markers of inflammation, but many different health problems can cause inflammation. Blood can be tested for the HLA-B27 gene.
Purpose of review: The hallmark of ankylosing spondylitis is acute and chronic spinal inflammation initiating in the sacroiliac joints, often coupled with enthesitis, presenting as chronic inflammation at the sites of ligamentous and tendinous insertions into bone.
It is a rare disease, there is no cure, and you will end up in a wheelchair.
Ankylosing spondylitis may affect more than the spine. The disease may inflame joints in the pelvis, shoulders, hips and knees, and between the spine and ribs.
Dan Reynolds Has Ankylosing Spondylitis
Prior to learning of his AS, Reynolds was diagnosed with a type of inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis when he was 21. “That should have been an indication that I was prone to these autoimmune diseases,” Reynolds told Practical Pain Management magazine.
Ankylosing spondylitis is caused by Klebsiella.
Say, “You know arthritis makes joints like the knees and wrists painful. Well, I have a kind of arthritis that affects the spine called ankylosing spondylitis.” You can also bring remind friends and family of the symptoms you've been having and connect them to your diagnosis.