RIYADH: “Think Positive” is the slogan for the International Day for Arthritis being organized by King Fahd Medical City (KFMC) today.
Dr. Khaled Koshmak, head of internal medicine and chairman of the organizing committee, said that though there is no specific statistics about arthritic patients in the Kingdom the prevalence of the disease is increasing in the US where there were 46 million patients in 2003.
Recent studies estimate that the number will rise to 67 million in 2030.
Koshmak said studies conducted by King Khaled University Hospital in Qassim province indicated that there is a similarity to the ratio of prevalence in the US that showed three women to every man being affected.
Arthritis, he said, is triggered by abnormal activities in the immunity cells causing the body to produce antibodies that infects tissues surrounding the limbs, especially joints. He believes early detection of arthritis helps control the disease.
Koshmak said choosing the slogan “Think Positive” is aimed at boosting the morale of patients as those afflicted by arthritis suffer from depression.
The international day aims at building awareness through lectures.
“It is also a forum to bring in the latest medications and breakthrough in this area and show that the international medical community is working toward finding a cure,” he said.
