From the ArcaMax Publishing, Women Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/women/s-565219-867418
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (UPI) -- The beneficial effects of pregnancy and
childbearing on arthritic conditions may be more long-term than
previously thought, Norwegian researchers said.
Dr. Marianne Wallenius, of the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology, said
nulliparous women -- those who have not given birth to children -- are
diagnosed with chronic arthritides -- including ankylosing
spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis an average
of 5.2 years before parous women -- who have given birth to children.
Rheumatoid factor -- an autoantibody sometimes found in the immune
systems of people with rheumatoid arthritis -- was also present in
37.1 percent of the nulliparous women compared with 41.1 percent of
the parous women; although not statistically significant, the
difference may indicate that the parous women studied may possess a
higher disposition to developing arthritis than the nulliparous women,
Wallenius said.
"Arthritic conditions tend to occur more commonly in women,
particularly those of childbearing age. Some symptoms of rheumatoid
arthritis, for example, can improve during pregnancy, but our study
indicates that the processes of pregnancy and childbearing could delay
the onset of arthritic conditions," Wallenius said in a statement.
"Continued examination of the complex interactions between the female
reproductive processes and the epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis
could yield further interesting insights."
The findings were published in the European League Against Rheumatism,
the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in
Copenhagen, Denmark.