More on the Arthritis/Weather Connection

[Guest guest]

THE CLAIM: Arthritis is affected by changes in the weather.

Jun. 9, 2004 12:00 AM

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0609bottomline.h\

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THE FACTS: The belief that arthritis pain fluctuates with the weather

dates to at least 400 B.C., when Hippocrates wrote about the connection

between illness and the seasons. An estimated 60 percent of Americans

with rheumatoid arthritis believe that their condition waxes and wanes

with changes in temperature and barometric pressure. Research shows that

they probably are mistaken.

In 1996, a team of researchers followed 18 people with arthritis for 15

months. Using several tests, the researchers kept track of the amount of

pain the subjects experienced every day and compared it with local

weather reports. There was no correlation.

Three years later, a second group of researchers tracked 75 rheumatoid

arthritis patients, comparing their diary entries during a 75-day period

with local weather patterns. Self-reported pain levels, they found, were

highest on cold, overcast days and just after days with high barometric

pressure. But overall the effect was not statistically significant.

" We didn't find a significant relationship, but from having thousands of

patients in my career and reading the studies, I think there's something

there, " said Dr. Weisberg of the State University of New York at

Stony Brook, an author of the second study.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Weather patterns do not appear to influence arthritis pain.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/12/2004 5:37:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time, gmckin@...

writes:

THE BOTTOM LINE: Weather patterns do not appear to influence arthritis pain.

thats funny because my body disagrees and believes it is good indicator of

weather. Anyone else with me on this one...lol

Donna

[Guest guest]

Hi Donna,

Isn't this just ridiculous? If there were no connection, this would be a

non-issue already. Instead, people are forever debating whether or not

the weather plays any sort of role. When, in fact, there's no question

that once the barometric pressure drops MANY people can " feel it in

their bones " !

Sure. It goes without saying that Josh has at times had greater amounts

of arthritis activity even when the skies were blue, clear, and sunny.

When there were no impending storms on the horizon ... but I can't even

count the number of times he's had increased aches in his joints just

prior to us getting a spell of damp, rainy, weather here. We've joked

that he should consider becoming a weather forecaster, as he can be so

uncannily accurate at predicting

Appreciating the sunny skies,

Georgina

faces1999@... wrote:

> In a message dated 6/12/2004 5:37:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time, gmckin@...

> writes:

>

> THE BOTTOM LINE: Weather patterns do not appear to influence arthritis pain.

> thats funny because my body disagrees and believes it is good indicator of

> weather. Anyone else with me on this one...lol

> Donna

[Guest guest]

Vote me in. I have RSD in my left arm and 2 herniated disks in my back. I can

tell you all about weather changes.

e

faces1999@... wrote:

In a message dated 6/12/2004 5:37:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time, gmckin@...

writes:

THE BOTTOM LINE: Weather patterns do not appear to influence arthritis pain.

thats funny because my body disagrees and believes it is good indicator of

weather. Anyone else with me on this one...lol

Donna

[Guest guest]

LOL

This reminds me of my abnormal psychology book from college that

claimed there was no such thing as PMS. Why debate things we know

are true? I bet men wrote that study about PMS (you wonder if they

had wives!), and I bet people without arthritis wrote the study

about the weather. I definitely feel changes in weather, and some of

my worst symptoms have been around the time of big storms or

continuous stormy weather.

Elisheva

> > In a message dated 6/12/2004 5:37:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

gmckin@g...

> > writes:

> >

> > THE BOTTOM LINE: Weather patterns do not appear to influence

arthritis pain.

> > thats funny because my body disagrees and believes it is good

indicator of

> > weather. Anyone else with me on this one...lol

> > Donna