02 November 2008

Some additional info and questions

I was curious if anyone has com across information stating if RA or OA affects a certain ethnic group more than another such as IBD and Jewish people? I was also surfing the net and found some forms of alternative medicine on the Mayo Clinic website for RA. They suggest discussing them with your doctor first but the three that gave were plant oils containing gamma linolenic acid (GLA) a type of omega-6 fatty acid that comes from plant oils, such as evening primrose, borage and black currant, fish oil that contains eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which are omegea-3 fatty acids commonly found in fish oil, and surprisingly enough Tai Chi which is movement therapy that involves gentle exercises and stretches combined with deep breathing.

2 comments:

wayala said...

Osteoarthritis affects about 12.1% of adults over 25 in the U.S. The prevalence of osteoarthritis increases with age. However, depending on your ethnicity, you may be more likely to develop osteoarthritis because risk factors for OA have been found to be more common among certain ethnic groups.

According to an article I found in the New York Times, Caucasians and African-Americans are more likely to have OA than Hispanics or other ethnic groups.

However, in certain ethnic groups, OA also tends to affect specific joints more than others.

Here's the web address:
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/osteoarthritis/risk-factors.html

Morganr said...

I found the same information according to ethnic groups. But in addition to that I have also found that it occurs more in women. I don't exactly see why...maybe it has to do with pregnancy?? Age is really a key factor though with Osteoarthritis.