{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T09:05:43Z","timestamp":1785143143747,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785110400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease associated with significant morbidity, disability, and reduced quality of life. Despite its clinical importance, public awareness and understanding of RA remain variable across populations. This study aimed to assess the level of awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and information-seeking behavior regarding RA among the general population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults residing in the UAE. Data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, awareness, knowledge of symptoms, risk factors, treatment, and attitudes toward RA which was administered in English only. A total of 739 participants were included in the final analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data, and results were expressed as frequencies and percentages.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among the participants, 65.4% reported awareness of RA. Knowledge levels were moderate, with 65.2% demonstrating adequate knowledge. A majority correctly identified RA as an autoimmune disease (56%) and recognized its joint involvement (61.4%). However, gaps were observed in symptom recognition, particularly for systemic features such as fever (38.8%) and fatigue (49.7%). Regarding treatment, 64% knew that RA is not completely curable, while knowledge of specific management options varied. In terms of attitudes, 68.2% considered RA a serious condition, and 77.7% would seek medical care for persistent joint symptoms. Most participants (76.7%) preferred obtaining information from the internet, although 20.8% showed reluctance to seek further information.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Although general awareness of RA in the UAE is moderate, significant gaps persist in detailed knowledge, particularly regarding disease mechanisms, systemic involvement, and treatment options. There is a need for targeted educational interventions to improve comprehensive understanding, promote early diagnosis, and enhance disease outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1845147","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T08:21:15Z","timestamp":1785140475000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Rheumatoid arthritis in the public eye: a study on awareness and knowledge levels in the United Arab Emirates"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Chris Mathew","family":"Prince","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Georgian National University SEU","place":["Tbilisi, Georgia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adhya Miriam","family":"Tom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University","place":["Ajman, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sofia Sajid","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University","place":["Ajman, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jagat","family":"Gopinath","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University","place":["Ajman, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saba","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University","place":["Ajman, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ashish Sam","family":"Enos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Thumbay Hospital","place":["Ajman, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anusha","family":"Sreejith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Gulf Medical University","place":["Ajman, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"Faculty of Thumbay Institute of Population Health","place":["Ajman, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.21608\/ejcm.2020.89887","article-title":"Evaluation of awareness, knowledge and attitudes regarding common rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematous) in Sohag governorate","volume":"38","author":"El Saman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Egypt J Community Med"},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Clinical presentation and diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"13","author":"Trivedi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ann Clin Med Case Rep"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.1136\/ard.59.1.32","article-title":"The general public's knowledge and perceptions about rheumatic diseases","volume":"59","author":"Van Der Wardt","year":"2000","journal-title":"Ann Rheum Dis"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.4236\/ojra.2014.44031","article-title":"Assessment of knowledge and attitude in a sample of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its association with disease activity and severity: a cross-sectional study","volume":"4","author":"Salman","year":"2014","journal-title":"Open J Rheumatol Autoimmune Dis"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.4103\/ara.ara_11_24","article-title":"Knowledge and awareness of rheumatoid arthritis among the population of Al Qunfudhah, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional 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study","volume":"9","author":"Albiss","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Rheumatol"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2174\/18743129-v16-e221130-2022-7","article-title":"Public awareness of rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in Lebanon","volume":"16","author":"Menassa","year":"2022","journal-title":"Open Rheumatol J"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.21608\/mjcu.2023.307506","article-title":"Evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis knowledge among a cohort of 1004 healthy Egyptians","volume":"91","author":"El-Zorkany","year":"2023","journal-title":"Med J Cairo Univ"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"635","DOI":"10.2147\/PPA.S448999","article-title":"Knowledge of common symptoms of rheumatic diseases and causes of delayed diagnosis in Saudi Arabia","volume":"18","author":"Al-Mehmadi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Patient Prefer Adherence"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.31079","article-title":"Impact of mass media on the general population's knowledge and attitudes toward rheumatoid arthritis in Qassim, Saudi Arabia","volume":"14","author":"Alrashdi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref17","volume-title":"Rheumatoid Arthritis\u2014Symptoms and Causes","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref18","volume-title":"Rheumatoid Arthritis","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.4103\/ara.ara_34_24","article-title":"Assessment of disease-related knowledge among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Aseer region, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study","volume":"5","author":"AlMalki","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ann Rheumatol Autoimmun"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public 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