Essay: Alea Clark
ESSAY: ALEA CLARK COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER “The function of protecting and developing health must rank even above that of restoring it when it is impaired.” -Hippocrates Many in the United States have heard, “Prevention is the best medicine,” an expression that seems self-evident, yet may have been forgotten considering the drastic increase in rheumatological and immune-mediated illnesses in the United States in recent years. Stunningly, approximately 1 in 4 American adults has already been diagnosed with arthritis or other rheumatologic illness. The CDC has predicted that, by the year 2040, about 78 million US adults (26% of the population) are expected to be diagnosed with a rheumatic disease. This Service Scholar Project is dedicated to assisting pediatric rheumatology patients through Columbia Hospital’s Rheumatology branch and the Charla de Lupus organization. In order to target the issues of lack of peer support and insufficient focus on preventive care, this project involves the creation of informational pamphlets on preventive care and mentoring children and families with these rheumatological conditions via Zoom. Rheumatologic diseases encompass a wide variety of diseases that involve dysregulation of the immune system. The most common kind of rheumatological diseases are autoimmune diseases, a spectrum that encompasses conditions such as Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Lupus, Celiac Disease, and Psoriasis. Although each disease has its own distinct symptoms, many rheumatological diseases present general inflammatory symptoms such as pain, swelling, recurrent fevers, brain fog, and fatigue. According to the Arthritis Foundation, there are over 300,000 children living with juvenile arthritis in the U.S. Shockingly, there is a stunning shortage of doctors trained to diagnose and treat these patients, with only 420 total board certified Pediatric Rheumatologists in the United States attempting to treat a growing number of children with rheumatic diseases. An estimated 75% of children with arthritis are not able to see a rheumatologist, as there are so few specialists in this field; nine US states don’t have a single Pediatric Rheumatologist in practice. As a result, many rheumatology departments are overwhelmed, and many children often go undiagnosed or otherwise lack the care they need. Pediatricians who aren’t specialized in diagnosing rheumatological and immunological illnesses may not recognize the inflammatory symptoms that patients present, and may instead assume the child has an infection of sorts when complaining of “growing pains,” or possibly even exaggerating their pain and discomfort. The symptoms presented in these diseases often make it difficult for children with rheumatologic conditions to function in a normal school environment, and children who are unable to obtain the modifications they need often face prejudice from teachers and peers, and/ or academic difficulties as a result of repeated illness and many days of missed
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