We need to leave behind prejudiced science
Diagnostic criteria put out by medical organizations are supposed to help make diagnosis more straightforward for doctors and patients by defining what the disease is. They should make it easier to study the disease and easier to decide treatment. But what about when those criteria are based on biased assumptions? Research for spondyloarthritis has a history of discrimination affecting women and people of color, and decisions continue to be made from that research. Doctors and researchers need to consider this when making recommendations and designing studies today. Spondyloarthritis Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of autoinflammatory diseases that mostly feature arthritis of the spine which can lead to spinal fusion. The…
I don’t have a diagnosis date
“When were you diagnosed?” It’s a common question among people with chronic illnesses. I’ve heard it asked of my diabetic partner, and I’ve been asked myself. But when you’ve been diagnosed with spondylitis, or any disease that’s difficult to diagnose, the answer doesn’t tell the whole story. I was diagnosed? I was never formally given a diagnosis. Doctors threw around “arthritis” a lot, but that’s not a specific disease. I was never sat down and told, “You have spondylitis,” so it wasn’t the big “Ah-ha!” moment, for good or bad, that some people have. My partner remembers when he was diagnosed with diabetes. My friend knows exactly when she was…
