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AMSTERDAM — Physicians have largely overlooked the sizable adverse impact rheumatoid arthritis often has on sexuality, Ylva Helland said at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology.
Her survey of 1,041 Oslo-area patients with a median 14-year duration of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) showed that while 31% reported their disease had no impact upon sexual function, an equal percentage indicated RA had a major negative effect in this domain.
Indeed, 21% of respondents said RA had a “considerable” adverse impact on their sexual function, another 7% reported their disease made sexual activity impossible, and 3% characterized sexual activity as nearly impossible, reported Ms. Helland, a research nurse at the University of Oslo.
The rest of the respondents, 38%, indicated that their disease had “little impact” on sexual activity.
Patients who reported that RA had a large impact upon their sex life tended to have worse health status across the full spectrum of physical and psychological dimensions.
A greater impact of RA on sexual activity was reported by men, patients with less than 12 years of education, and those who reported higher levels of fatigue, she said at the congress sponsored by the European League Against Rheumatism.
Ms. Helland and her coinvestigators received a EULAR/Abbott award honoring their study as one of the six best clinical studies presented at the meeting.
At a press conference aimed at boosting physician awareness of sexual issues in RA patients, Connie Ziegler of the Danish Rheumatism Association said that during the course of several decades as an RA patient, not a single physician had ever asked her if the disease had affected her sexual function. “In Denmark we say that rheumatoid arthritis patients are better lovers,” she added. “It's because we have to use our imagination, since there are some positions not available to us.”
AMSTERDAM — Physicians have largely overlooked the sizable adverse impact rheumatoid arthritis often has on sexuality, Ylva Helland said at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology.
Her survey of 1,041 Oslo-area patients with a median 14-year duration of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) showed that while 31% reported their disease had no impact upon sexual function, an equal percentage indicated RA had a major negative effect in this domain.
Indeed, 21% of respondents said RA had a “considerable” adverse impact on their sexual function, another 7% reported their disease made sexual activity impossible, and 3% characterized sexual activity as nearly impossible, reported Ms. Helland, a research nurse at the University of Oslo.
The rest of the respondents, 38%, indicated that their disease had “little impact” on sexual activity.
Patients who reported that RA had a large impact upon their sex life tended to have worse health status across the full spectrum of physical and psychological dimensions.
A greater impact of RA on sexual activity was reported by men, patients with less than 12 years of education, and those who reported higher levels of fatigue, she said at the congress sponsored by the European League Against Rheumatism.
Ms. Helland and her coinvestigators received a EULAR/Abbott award honoring their study as one of the six best clinical studies presented at the meeting.
At a press conference aimed at boosting physician awareness of sexual issues in RA patients, Connie Ziegler of the Danish Rheumatism Association said that during the course of several decades as an RA patient, not a single physician had ever asked her if the disease had affected her sexual function. “In Denmark we say that rheumatoid arthritis patients are better lovers,” she added. “It's because we have to use our imagination, since there are some positions not available to us.”
AMSTERDAM — Physicians have largely overlooked the sizable adverse impact rheumatoid arthritis often has on sexuality, Ylva Helland said at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology.
Her survey of 1,041 Oslo-area patients with a median 14-year duration of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) showed that while 31% reported their disease had no impact upon sexual function, an equal percentage indicated RA had a major negative effect in this domain.
Indeed, 21% of respondents said RA had a “considerable” adverse impact on their sexual function, another 7% reported their disease made sexual activity impossible, and 3% characterized sexual activity as nearly impossible, reported Ms. Helland, a research nurse at the University of Oslo.
The rest of the respondents, 38%, indicated that their disease had “little impact” on sexual activity.
Patients who reported that RA had a large impact upon their sex life tended to have worse health status across the full spectrum of physical and psychological dimensions.
A greater impact of RA on sexual activity was reported by men, patients with less than 12 years of education, and those who reported higher levels of fatigue, she said at the congress sponsored by the European League Against Rheumatism.
Ms. Helland and her coinvestigators received a EULAR/Abbott award honoring their study as one of the six best clinical studies presented at the meeting.
At a press conference aimed at boosting physician awareness of sexual issues in RA patients, Connie Ziegler of the Danish Rheumatism Association said that during the course of several decades as an RA patient, not a single physician had ever asked her if the disease had affected her sexual function. “In Denmark we say that rheumatoid arthritis patients are better lovers,” she added. “It's because we have to use our imagination, since there are some positions not available to us.”