New research into rheumatoid arthritis shows the problem affects various ethnicities differently, and that plays a role in how the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis has to vary from person to person.

Numerous studies have proved that for conditions such as diabetes, stroke, cancer, and blood pressure, ethnic background makes a difference in the way the disease progresses and the way pain is felt, and thus in the way the disease should be treated. This new study shows rheumatoid arthritis is one of those diseases.
Most patients like 62 year old Edith Smith, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, are treated with a one size fits all approach—it’s presumed the disease affects each ethnicity the same and that the disease is easily treated the same regardless of ethnicity.
“Walking was a problem because my knees and my hips were involved and so was my pelvis. Turning the door knob, turning on the faucet, raising my arms to do my hair, I had a problem carrying out the most basic of functions,” says Edith.
Researchers started a registry of rheumatoid arthritis patients, comparing the symptoms of each patient and seeing whether there is a difference between ethnicities.
Dr. Yusuf Yazici, the study researcher at Long Island College Hospital, says “What we’ve been able to show is that when we compare Caucasians, African-Americans and Hispanics, there are differences between disease characteristics when they first begin experiencing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. This becomes important because right now over 90% of the patients included in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis are Caucasians. So the results that we get from these trials with all the medications that we use apply to mostly to Caucasians, and we just assume that it applies to every other patient that we see.”
The study found the number of swollen joints was higher in African Americans and whites, and lower in Hispanics, but the pain severity was greater in Hispanics. The concern is, because minority patients are not being studied, the drugs they’re being treated with as a result of research might not be ideal to treat their rheumatoid arthritis.
“If you just stick to Caucasians, who make up over 90% of patients that we use in trials, we are missing out entire other groups of patients,” says Dr. Yazici.
The researchers argue that there should be a better effort with clinical trials. They argue that drug company-sponsored and government sponsored trials need to be more inclusive of all types of patients to get a fuller picture of the responses to rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
Fortunately for Edith, she’s gotten treatment that’s helped her quite a bit. “I have had flare-ups but I’m getting much better,” states Edith.

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