Introduction: Rheumatoid Arthritis is a long-term and progressive autoimmune disease which causes inflammation and swelling and pain in the joints and other organs of the body. The common symptom of this disease includes joint stiffness which usually reaches its peak in the morning when waking up and gradually decreases with the start of daily activities. According to the research, women are more affected by rheumatoid arthritis than men. In this article, the effect of estrogen hormone on rheumatoid arthritis has been tried to be investigated.
Methods: Some research shows that hormones may play a role in aggravating or Relieving arthritis. For example, changing the level of estrogen hormone has effects on RA disease. Menopause can be mentioned as an example of the effect of estrogen on RA. In women, when the level of estrogen decreases drastically, they enter the menopause period. When a woman lives with a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, it may worsen during menopause. Another evidence is the effect of estrogen on arthritis during pregnancy (when the level of estrogen increases). According to a study carried out in 2019, it has been shown that 60% of women experience a decrease in RA symptoms during pregnancy but after childbirth (that is, when the level of hormones such as estrogen decreases), the occurrence of disease or exacerbation of RA has been observed in 46% of them.
Also, RA patients witnessed the worsening of their disease symptoms in the days before menstruation, when the amount of estrogen in the body decreases. In a clinical study performed in June 1983, the daily examination of symptoms during 69 menstrual cycles in 14 patients with RA shows that rheumatoid arthritis has decreased in the post-ovulation stage of the menstrual cycle when we see the rise of estrogen
Results: With this evidence, we may conclude with further investigations in the future that Estrogen has a protective role in rheumatoid arthritis.
Conclusion: With this evidence, we may conclude with further investigations in the future that Estrogen has a protective role in rheumatoid arthritis.
Keywords: Effect of hormones on rheumatoid arthritis
The effect of estrogen hormone on rheumatoid arthritis