A new study is offering support for those who advocate for more sexual health information for people living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study, which was presented at the 7th annual European League Against Rheumatism congress, reported on a survey conducted of 1041 adults living with rheumatoid arthritis. The results included:

• 21% reported considerable impact on sexual activity as a result of living with RA
• 10% reported that living with RA made sexual activity almost, or completely impossible
• 69% reported that RA had little or no impact on their sexual activity
• Men were more likely to report an impact on sexual activity than women (40% versus 28%)
• Fatigue and functional limitations were more likely to predict a negative impact on sexual behavior than joint pain

The study was a survey completed through the mail, and carries with it all the usual problems of sexual survey research, including biased responses from subjects based on their own sexual values. For example, the significant different in men versus women reporting negative impact on sexual activity could be more a result of women not feeling as comfortable making sexual statements (or statements that could be perceived as sexual expectations).

It's also interesting to note that the majority of respondents found that RA had little or no impact on their sexual activity. It would be useful to know if those same people found that RA had an impact on other activities of daily living, and also whether these people valued sexual activity before developing rheumatoid arthritis.

Read more – Sex and Arthritis

Related – About Sex and Disability