Papers of the Week

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune illness that manifests mostly as chronic, symmetric, and progressive polyarthritis with a global frequency of 0.3-1.0%. RA is a disease that affects people all over the world. In India, the prevalence is estimated to be 0.7%, with around 10 million persons suffering from RA. Most people with rheumatoid arthritis experience fatigue on most days, with over 70% experiencing symptoms similar to chronic fatigue syndrome. Patients rate fatigue as a top priority and believe this unmanageable symptom is ignored by clinicians; a systematic review shows the biological agents for RA inflammation have only a small effect on fatigue. Fatigue predicts and reduces the quality of life, and it is as difficult to cope with as pain. Physicians have traditionally concentrated on the inflammatory aspects of the illness (e.g., synovitis), whereas RA patients have prioritized pain, exhaustion, sleep difficulties, and other quality-of-life issues.