TO: (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD), National Academy of Medicine, American Medical Association (AMA), The Mayo Clinic, The Arthritis Foundation, and the American College of Rheumatology

Almost 20 million people worldwide were living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in 2017. In the US alone 1.5M have RA and disproportionately impacts women and is thus subject to recognized gender bias in medical treatment. 

A Name that Trivializes Reality

Arthritis means inflammation of the joints and rheumatoid is defined as a “chronic autoimmune disease characterized especially by pain, stiffness, inflammation, swelling, and sometimes destruction of joints.”

Yet despite both of these definitions, RA effects far more than the joints. According to the Mayo Clinic, approximately 40% of people with rheumatoid arthritis experience signs and symptoms that don't involve the joints. Areas that may be affected include:
·       Skin
·       Eyes
·       Lungs
·       Heart
·       Kidneys
·       Salivary glands
·       Nerve tissue
·       Bone marrow
·       Blood vessels

Complications of RA
RA can affect many parts of your body, beyond your joints. It puts you at higher risk of developing a variety of conditions, such as:

- osteoporosis
- lung disease
- heart conditions
- neuropathy
- anemia
- infections
Balance issues and hair loss are also among the many complications of RA, not to mention the myriad side effects of medications ot treat it.

Other disease names have been changed to be more accurately descriptive and/or less offensive or discriminatory to those living with the conditions.  In 2015 chronic fatigue syndrome was renamed: systemic exertion intolerance disease, or SEID. Bipolar disease was formerly called manic depression. Depression was known as melancholia. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention originally called HIV/Aids "the 4H disease" because it was believed to only affect Haitians, homosexuals, heroin users and hemophiliacs, while the press referred to it as Grid - which was short for gay-related immune deficiency.

While many patients live with debilitating fatigue, RA is often an invisible disability - not immediately apparent- despite significantly impairing normal activities of daily living. This is all the more reason it deserves a name that accurately and fully describes the complexities of the disease rather than narrowly limiting it to a swelling and stiffness of the joints.

The current name is offensive inasmuch as it is incomplete, inaccurate, confusing, trivial and minimizing of this devastating, chronic, incurable, degenerative and crippling disease.

A name change is needed to gain increased awareness, respect, dignity, and sensitivity to the complex challenges faced by those — mostly women — living with this disease. 

Change the name to Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease (SAIRD) or Autoimmune Systemic Rheumatoid Disease (ASRD)

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#RANameChange @RANameChange