In psoriatic arthritis, connections matter | Takeda Stories
In psoriatic arthritis, connections matter
This article features real patients sharing their personal experiences and is available to the public for disease awareness only. Individual experiences may vary. Please consult your healthcare provider for medical advice. This article is developed by Takeda. Speakers have received compensation from Takeda for their participation.
Takeda does not have any product approved for the treatment of psoriasis at the time of publication.
Kathleen is living with psoriatic disease
Kathleen was diagnosed with psoriasis as a child, but her psoriatic arthritis was painfully evident long before it was diagnosed. She recalls, “I walked with a limp, dragged my right leg, and had so much pain in my jaw at times that it would be crooked.”
Kathleen describes a childhood without running, swimming, or even going to gym class. Her family felt the impact, too, due to the limits her pain placed on her and all of them, whether it was regarding her care or what they could do as a family. “My conditions definitely changed the family dynamics.”
But her diagnosis was delayed, she adds, because it seemed that “back in the early 1990s, not much was known about the connection between psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. And if the connection was known then, it wasn’t communicated to me. The word they used was ‘inflammation, as in, your skin and joints are inflamed.’”
Once she was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, Kathleen describes feeling more terrified than relieved, even though she understands now that much can be done to manage her condition. “Back then I thought, ‘Are you kidding me? What now?’ I felt so bad sometimes that I couldn't leave the house. My world was getting smaller and smaller.”
For Kathleen, learning more about her condition and volunteering with both a national and international psoriasis organization gives her a sense of hope, which she lacked for a long time. Her outlook on life today is more positive.
“Now, more than ever, being an advocate for patients like me makes me want to get out of bed and keep moving.”
“There is hope that so many people around the world are putting their amazing brains and effort into researching psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.”
Kathleen, a person living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
Simmie is living with psoriatic disease
Simmie also has psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and has been living with both for as long as she can remember. Like Kathleen, Simmie believes that it’s essential to learn more and raise awareness. She hopes it can mean that “someone gets diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis sooner and doesn’t suffer for as long as I did––and as far too many people do.”
These kinds of experiences are all too common, according to Ejim Mark, MD, MPH, Global Medical Unit Head, Autoimmune Diseases and Rheumatology at Takeda. “When we are working with patients, clinicians, and advocacy organizations, we listen closely for unmet needs. We’re hearing loud and clear that in psoriatic disease, there is a need for greater awareness of psoriatic arthritis.”
- Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic and systemic inflammatory disease that involves the immune system.1
- Patients can have joint pain, stiffness, and swelling, but symptoms and severity can vary from person to person. The condition causes painful physical symptoms and can impact quality of life and relationships with family and friends.2
- It is estimated that approximately 30% of people with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis.3
- And yet, awareness of that connection is still lacking. In fact, a recent survey of people with psoriatic disease reported that only 29% were aware of the connection between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.4*
Simmie, too, says that awareness of the connection between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis is lacking. “The unmet need right now is people just not understanding what psoriatic arthritis is and how it can relate to having psoriasis. But researchers and others have learned a lot over the years, and they continue to learn,” she adds. As an adult, Simmie went to great lengths to try to hide her condition and cope with her worsening joint pain. But suffering in silence wasn’t working. She recalls thinking that “if I don't get proactive about my symptoms, I feared something worse could happen - like possibly needing to use a wheelchair. So I read a lot, immersed myself, and talked with my healthcare provider.”
Ejim Mark, MD, MPH, Global Medical Unit Head, Autoimmune Diseases and Rheumatology at Takeda
Kathleen adds that she is relieved to know that “researchers are intrigued by the connection between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. It is such a puzzle. We need to keep that level of excitement about getting to the root of inflammation and the implications for comorbid conditions.”
“For me and many others,” Kathleen shares, “there is hope that so many people around the world are putting their amazing brains and effort into researching psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.”
- Our Cause. IFPA. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://ifpa-pso.com/about-ifpa/our-cause
- Inside Psoriatic Disease Family Report. IFPA. https://cms.ifpa-pso.com/uploads/Inside-Psoriatic-Disease-Family-Report.pdf. Accessed September 23, 2024.
- Mease PJ, Gladman DD, Papp KA, et al. Prevalence of rheumatologist-diagnosed psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis in European/North American dermatology clinics. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013;69(5):729-735.
- Armstrong A, Bohannan B, Mburu S, et al. Impact of Psoriatic Disease on Quality of Life: Interim Results of a Global Survey. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2022;12(4):1055-1064.
