Rheumatic diseases affect 350 million people worldwide and up to 6.5 million in our country. From systemic autoimmune diseases to inflammatory arthritis, to degenerative forms, rheumatic diseases number around 200. Often chronic, they do not only affect the joints but also the muscles, tendons, and bones, and sometimes internal organs, imposing a heavy burden on patients’ daily lives.
A genuine public health emergency that requires a joint effort from institutions and professionals in the field
It was a topic that yesterday, October 12, on World Rheumatic Diseases Day, took on even greater significance.
Earlier today the SIR — the Italian Society of Rheumatology — reiterated its most important priorities:
- campaigns of prevention and information about symptoms and healthy living;
- early diagnosis and equitable access to innovative therapies in LEA;
- enhancement of telemedicine and of a multidisciplinary approach to patient management;
- better training of doctors and pharmacists, to identify cases at the first signs and improve adherence to treatments.
The SIR’s hope is for a future in which rheumatic diseases no longer mean limitations, but opportunities for cure, remission, and quality of life for all patients. The Bill No. 946 on reforming rheumatology care points in that direction.
The Institutions’ Commitment
In recent days in the Senate, a press conference was held titled “World Day of Rheumatic Diseases 2025: a paradigm shift is needed. With prevention, early diagnosis and therapeutic innovation, a new future is possible”.
The initiative, promoted by Senator Maria Cristina Cantù, in collaboration with the Italian Society of Rheumatology, and under the auspices of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, drew attention to active prevention, timely diagnoses, and therapeutic innovation to reduce the incidence of rheumatic diseases, increase the likelihood of catching them early, and improve patients’ quality of life.
Rheumatic diseases do not affect only elderly patients, which is why it is essential to promote prevention across the entire population.
“In the public imagination there are still many false beliefs surrounding rheumatic diseases,” says Andrea Doria, president of SIR. “First and foremost, the idea that these conditions only affect older patients. In reality, they can affect young adults who are in the prime of their working lives, women of reproductive age, and children. Another persistent myth is that they are ‘unpreventable.’ Although genetics play a significant role in many rheumatic diseases, there are ways to prevent them. But most people don’t know this; they aren’t aware that simple behaviors, such as not smoking, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, keeping a healthy weight, and protecting against infections with vaccines, can reduce the risk of developing rheumatic diseases or delay their onset—especially if a family member already suffers from one. Family members of patients, in fact, have a 10% higher risk of falling ill.”
Another area of focus was early diagnosis: the innovations in recent years, particularly the measurement of certain biomarkers, such as autoantibodies, allow clinicians to catch diseases even before symptoms appear.
«On average it takes seven years to discover you have psoriatic arthritis, five for ankylosing spondylitis, three for systemic sclerosis, and two for rheumatoid arthritis,” explains Gian Domenico Sebastiani, former president of SIR. “If not diagnosed and treated early, these diseases can cause irreparable damage, with associated health and social costs. Training primary care physicians remains crucial, as they are the first point of contact for patients and can detect early warning signals. It is also essential to implement PDTA (diagnostic-therapeutic care pathways) that define an appropriate, guideline-conforming process to ensure the best possible care for patients.”
Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the patient should be managed by a rheumatologist and begin treatment. In this context, a personalized approach to care is fundamental.
Roberto Caporali, elected president of SIR, explains: «Today the new frontier is called ‘personalized medicine’ and aims to define the right drug for the right patient at the right time. Through precise investigations, biomarker analysis, and tissue studies, we can try to find the best medication for each individual patient, minimizing the proportion of non-responders. This approach is already used in other therapeutic areas and is beginning to be feasible in rheumatology as well.»
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