Warm Climate Eases Arthritis but Stress of Move Can Hurt

For more than a decade, people with arthritis have predictably relocated to the warm, stable climates of Arizona and Florida seeking relief from their symptoms.

But Dr. Joseph L. Hollander, the physician who first proved that climate has an effect on arthritis pain, is now suggesting that the stress of a move to warmer latitudes may do more harm than good for some patients.

Hollander, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, cited a recent survey of 700 people with arthritis who had moved to Tucson because they believed the warm, dry weather would alleviate pain and swelling.

Half of those surveyed said their symptoms had improved since relocating, but a third said their symptoms had become more severe, according to Hollander’s report in AimPlus, an arthritis magazine.

The findings support recent research suggesting that stress, as well as weather, may play a significant role in arthritis pain.

“The point I want to make is that people must not think a move is a cure-all,” Hollander said in a telephone interview.

Moving is considered one of the most stressful of life’s events, next to death of a loved one and divorce, so relocating for arthritis pain may contribute to the problem more than relieve it.

The National Arthritis Foundation has no figures indicating how many of the country’s estimated 37 million arthritis sufferers have moved to warmer climates, according to spokeswoman Sue Manfred.

“Anecdotally, it would seem there are a lot,” she said.

Manfred said the foundation recommends that people who are interested in moving visit their proposed new home several times over the course of a year to determine if they benefit from all seasons.

“Even the most stable climates change somewhat,” she said. “And some people don’t seem to feel better no matter how good the climate is.

“We suggest (that) people put a lot of thought into this,” she said. “It’s a monumental change, especially in the life of an older person.”

Hollander contends that this change could worsen arthritis symptoms and suggests that patients considering a move to a warmer climate ask themselves first whether they would worry excessively about the move and how much it costs, whether they would be lonely in their new home and whether their decision would be supported by family and friends.

“Stress can aggravate the pain,” he said. “If they are giving up family and friends, if they are giving up everything that is familiar, then they should not expect too much good to come out of a move.”

Skeletal remains suggest that Neanderthals and even dinosaurs suffered from arthritis--a general term for pain and degeneration of the joints. Throughout recorded history, arthritis sufferers have contended that they can tell when the weather is going to change by monitoring pain in their joints.

In the late 1960s, Hollander and his colleagues gave scientific credibility to these reports when they found that rapid changes in weather--a sharp drop in barometric pressure combined with a rise in humidity--actually increase swelling and pain in many patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, which involves a membrane that surrounds joints.

This membrane, called the synovial membrane, becomes inflamed, and increases in surrounding fluid cause pain and reduced mobility.

Rheumatoid arthritis occurs three times as often in women as men. Its onset usually occurs between the ages of 18 and 50.

Warm, stable climates such as those found in the Southwest alleviate some pain and swelling since there is little humidity and the barometer remains fairly constant.

According to Hollander, arthritis patients who find a move to the Southwest too stressful can still alleviate their symptoms by using a dehumidifier or an air conditioner to keep humidity in the 30% to 40% range that is ideal for most patients.

The doctor also recommended that patients monitor weather forecasts and take anti-inflammatory arthritis drugs or aspirin before a major storm to keep pain at a minimum. Such therapy should be approved by the patient’s physician, he said.