Original Article:
Body Image of Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis
by S. Gutweniger, M. Kopp, E. Mur, V. Gunther
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ae8d/4d223491e0e5becab29568f3a5ac5570a2a1.pdf
“…patients in the age group 30 – 55 years with a confirmed diagnosis of RA were included in the study and, since our focus included sexual problems, the participants had to be living in a partnership situation… Thus we had a group of 40 women who participated in the study and gave their informed consent after the objectives and purpose of the study had been explained to them…The questionnaire consists of 52 items which are to be answered with ‘true’ or ‘not true’. By means of factor analysis, it is possible to extract 4 factors.
Factor
1: Attractiveness/self-confidence.
Factor 2: Accentuation of external appearance.
Factor 3: Worry about possible physical deficits.
Factor 4: Problems regarding sexuality.
After they had completed the questionnaires, patients were interviewed by the female psychologist who conducted the investigations… In addition, they were requested to draw our attention to other problems, if any, relating to body image and sexuality which, in their opinion, were not captured by the questionnaire. This interview was further used to check the questionnaires for completeness; unanswered items were explained once again and answers obtained. Thus it was possible for us to record complete data on all 40 of our patients… To assess the relationships between the subjective degree of morning stiffness and clinical parameters (functional measures, laboratory measures), the Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated… 20 patients considered themselves as suffering from a low degree of morning stiffness, while 20 patients considered themselves as suffering from a high degree of morning stiffness. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of either sociodemographic or clinical parameters. There was no significant correlation between the extent of morning stiffness and different clinical measurements (Steinbrocker functional and radiographic stage, ERS, joint swelling). A comparison of the two groups (high vs. low morning stiffness) showed that worries about the body, as well as problems with regard to sexuality, were more pronounced in patients with high morning stiffness… The two groups did not differ in terms of their estimate of their own attractiveness, or in their beauty-promoting activities… She wants to be important to him, she wants him to look at her as an attractive woman, not as a crippled old person… Thus, even severely handicapped persons have some degree of satisfaction with their own bodies and enjoy activities of body care that improve their external appearance… morning stiffness plays a very important role in whether and how severely a patient feels herself to be handicapped, and this parameter does not correlate significantly with clinical parameters such as the Steinbrocker functional stage, the radiographic stage, the ESR, or joint swelling… Women with a high degree of subjective morning stiffness often have problems concerning their body image and sexuality.”
This report reinforces the power of perception and highlights the area of potential around beauty and hygiene products designed for individuals with arthritis. Women who experience more perceived morning stiffness—and therefore struggle more in the morning while getting ready—are already more self-conscious of their body, its functionality and appearance. One should wonder whether reducing perceived morning struggles could have unintended psychological benefits to women with RA.
