Women with early Rheumatoid Arthritis are referred to a rheumatologist later than men, new research shows. Early referral for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has been established as one of the best ways to protect joints against damage as far as possible.

In the present study, reported in The Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Dr. O. Palm and Dr. E. Purinszky, from Ostfold Hospital in Sarpsborg, Norway, analyzed data from all patients who were referred to their center with early RA over a 12-month period.

A total of 59 patients had arthritis and 44 of them had data suitable for analysis. This group included 17 men and 27 women.

The lag time between onset of arthritis and seeing doctors for the disease was divided into three parts: the time to the initial visit to a physician (patient’s delay); the time between seeing a physician and being referred to a rheumatologist referral (physician’s delay); and the time after that before being seen by the specialist (clinic’s delay).

Both the patient’s delay and the clinic’s delay did not differ significantly between men and women. By contrast, the average physician’s delay for women was 10 weeks, significantly longer than the 3 weeks for men.

“Women, who most often have RA, were referred later than men, indicating that referring physicians should pay special attention to the diagnosis of early RA in women in order to achieve a shorter ‘physician’s delay’,” the authors comment.

“This study also highlights the need to improve the organization of healthcare,” the team adds. “The delay cannot be explained by a lack of rheumatologists.”

SOURCE: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, August 2005.