Age. Although anyone can develop psoriatic arthritis, it occurs most often in adults between the ages of 30 and 55.
Genes: Many people who get psoriatic arthritis have a family history of the disease, and researchers have identified some of the genes involved. Environment: Factors such as obesity, infection, injury, or stress may trigger the onset of the disease.
Six early signs of PsA are joint pain and swelling, swollen fingers, nail changes, fatigue, eye inflammation, and enthesitis, which affects the places where the tendons and muscles join the bones. Around 8 in 10 people who develop PsA already have a history of psoriasis, which causes scaly, silvery skin changes.
Psoriatic arthritis risk factor: Age
Psoriatic arthritis can start at any age. However, it occurs most often in adults ages 30 to 50. For the majority of patients, PsA starts five to 10 years after the development of psoriasis, says Dr.
It happens most often in the fingers and toes.
“Worsening joint pain and swelling, or new or worsening psoriatic lesions, are the most common red flags that someone is having a PsA flare,” says Yamen Homsi, M.D., the section chief of rheumatology at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. But there may be other signs that a flare is on the way.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or ESR or sed rate, is a blood test that measures inflammation in the body, which helps determine a psoriatic arthritis diagnosis, explains Elaine Husni, MD, MPH, vice chair of rheumatology and director of the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Center at the Cleveland Clinic.
Even so, the pain and discomfort associated with psoriatic arthritis can be significant. A study published in 2015 in the journal PLoS One found that the overall pain, joint pain, and fatigue reported by psoriatic arthritis patients was significantly greater than that reported by people with rheumatoid arthritis.
PsA is often undiagnosed and can be misdiagnosed for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA), especially in a non-rheumatologic setting [7–9]. RA is a chronic inflammatory arthritis typified by pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints, particularly symmetric small-joint synovitis of the hands and feet [10].
Generally psoriatic arthritis is a mild condition. With proper treatment and help from others you can relieve joint pain and stiffness and keep skin problems under control. Some people however have a more serious disease and require combinations of medications to control symptoms and prevent joint damage.
Foods like fatty red meats, dairy, refined sugars, processed foods, and possibly vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants (you might hear them called nightshades) may all cause inflammation. Avoid them and choose fish, like mackerel, tuna, and salmon, which have omega-3 fatty acids.
Both psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia can result in pain and fatigue, but people with psoriatic arthritis have these symptoms that differentiate the condition from fibromyalgia: Tender, swollen joints. The swelling of a whole toe or finger, referred to as “sausage digits”
The Arthritis Foundation lists joint pain, stiffness, skin rashes, fatigue, nail changes, decreased range of motion, and swelling as some of the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. When you combine these problems, the results can be debilitating. “It's like feeling your bones shatter and crumble.
Blood tests can help diagnose psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and rule out other possible causes of joint pain and stiffness, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Examples include tests for c-reactive protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor. Doctors do not rely solely on blood tests to diagnose PsA.
Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
These medications address the underlying systemic inflammation in psoriatic arthritis. They are critical for slowing and stopping the course of inflammatory disease and can treat both skin and joint pain at the same time.
Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are both autoimmune disorders that cause inflammation in the joints and throughout the body. Rheumatoid arthritis, like PsA, causes the synovial tissues that line the joints to thicken, causing pain, tenderness and swelling.
PsA Is an Autoimmune Disease
The inflammation can affect the entire body and may lead to permanent joint and tissue damage if it is not treated early and aggressively.
You'll probably think of skin issues first, but your eyes, heart, lungs, gastrointestinal (GI) tract (stomach and intestines), liver and kidneys may also be affected.
Rheumatologists often prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, also known as NSAIDs, to people with psoriatic arthritis. These medications can help ease pain and curb the swelling that accompanies this condition. Common NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
It typically causes affected joints to become swollen, stiff and painful. Like psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis is a long-term condition that can get progressively worse. If it's severe, there's a risk of the joints becoming permanently damaged or deformed, and surgery may be needed.
The participants with fibromyalgia reported more fatigue and a worse quality of life score than those who only had psoriatic arthritis. Other recent research found that people with both conditions may have a higher joint disease activity.
The most characteristic laboratory abnormalities in patients with psoriatic arthritis are elevations of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level. The results from these laboratory tests help to track the activity of the disease by measuring inflammation.
X-rays are the current gold standard. However, signs of psoriatic arthritis often do not appear on radiographs until later stages of the disease when bone erosion has occured.
First-line therapy in PsA includes the use of anti-inflammatory agents such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and at times low-dose prednisone given orally or by intra-articular glucocorticoid injections, always taking into account existing comorbidities, especially premature cardiovascular disease.