Half a million Belgians currently suffer from rheumatic disease, reports rheumatologist Jan Lenaerts on Wednesday, World Rheumatism Day.
In recent years, progress has been made in its treatment, but the work is certainly not finished, according to Lenaerts.
"Half a million Belgians is a very large group," said Lenaerts. "It is also one of the major causes of people’s incapacity for work, which is why awareness about the disease is very important."
It is estimated that one-third of all rheumatoid arthritis patients are under the age of 50. One in a thousand children develops childhood rheumatism.
"It is therefore a misconception that rheumatic complaints only occur in older people," said the doctor.
About 1% of the Belgian population has rheumatoid arthritis, better known as joint rheumatism, the most well-known form of rheumatism.
Another 1% suffer from so-called "rheumatism of the back" or spondylitis. It is very typical that this form starts in patients aged 20 to 40 years. Research shows that it takes an average of 7 years before these patients receive the correct diagnosis. As a result, treatments often start late.
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An unequivocal cause for rheumatoid arthritis has not yet been found. It is known that it is an autoimmune disease: the body’s own immune system attacks the body. Genetic and environmental factors also play a role and, in recent years, more attention has been paid to the negative impact of smoking.
"If people didn’t smoke, there would be only 60,000 patients in Belgium with rheumatoid arthritis, compared to 100,000 now," says Lenaerts.
