A public awareness campaign aimed to increase awareness of rheumatoid arthritis will be launched in Jeddah on Saturday, and in Riyadh and the Eastern Province in the subsequent weeks.

The program dubbed “Together Against Rheumatoid Arthritis” will be held from 5 p.m. in Red Sea Mall in Jeddah; on Jan. 3 at the Panorama Mall in Riyadh; and on Jan. 10, at Dhahran Mall in AlKhobar.

The drive is sponsored by the Saudi Society of Rheumatology, currently headed by Dr. Hussein Halabi, rheumatology consultant at the King Faisal Hospital in Jeddah.

Dr. Lina El Kibbi, a Riyadh-based rheumatology consultant, said the campaign aims to increase awareness about the disease among the general public and educate patients on the benefits of early intervention.

“The event will highlight how difficult simple tasks can become when one is suffering from painful, stiff and swollen joints which could be symptoms of arthritis,” El Kibbi said, adding that it was important to seek medical advice in the early stages.

El Kibbi said the Saudi Society of Rheumatology urges prospective patients to visit a rheumatologist for early diagnosis and obtain the proper treatment.

Rheumatoid arthritis, a serious disabling disease, is a chronic inflammation arising from the body’s immune system and affects the joints, especially small ones in the hands and feet and on both sides of the body, causing severe pain and swelling resulting in erosion of bone and joint deformity in some cases.

The disease may hurt a number of other vital organs such as the respiratory system, heart and eyes.

It can affect people of all ages, but is more common in the age group of 40-60 years, and the incidence is about three times more among women than men.

Statistics show that the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in the Kingdom remains within the global incidence rate, which is one percent of the total population.

According to a consultant, the symptoms of the disease manifest over a long period of time, but there are a few cases where the disease is sudden and severe.

The symptoms include stiffness in the joints in the morning for a period spanning more than an hour, in addition to the inability to work the daily routine such as using a toothbrush and opening the door, fatigue, apathy, weakness, low fever and weight loss.