What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid
arthritis is an
autoimmune disease that causes pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of function in the joints. It has several special features that make it different from other kinds of arthritis. For example, it generally occurs in a symmetrical pattern, meaning that if one knee or hand is involved, the other one also is. Rheumatoid arthritis often affects the wrist joints and the finger joints closest to the hand. It can also affect other parts of the body besides the joints. In addition, people with rheumatoid arthritis may have fatigue, occasional fevers, and a general sense of not feeling well.
How Common Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Scientists estimate that about 2.1 million people, or between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of the U.S. adult population, have rheumatoid arthritis. Interestingly, some recent studies have suggested that the overall number of new cases may actually be going down. Scientists are investigating why this may be happening.
Rheumatoid arthritis occurs in all races and ethnic groups. Although the disease often begins in middle age and occurs with increased frequency in older people, children and young adults also develop it. Like some other forms of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis occurs much more frequently in women than in men. About two to three times as many women as men have the disease.
What Causes It?
Doctors don't know the exact cause of rheumatoid
arthritis. They know that with this type of arthritis, a person's immune system attacks his/her own body tissues. Researchers are learning many things about why and how this happens. Things that may cause rheumatoid arthritis can include:
- Genes (passed from parent to child)
- Environment
- Hormones.
Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Some common symptoms of this condition include:
- Tender, warm, and swollen joints
- Symmetrical pattern of affected joints
- Joint inflammation often affecting the wrist and finger joints closest to the hand
- Joint inflammation sometimes affecting other joints, including the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, ankles, and feet
- Fatigue, occasional fevers, and a general sense of not feeling well
- Pain and stiffness lasting for more than 30 minutes in the morning or after a long rest
- Symptoms that last for many years
- Variability of symptoms among people with the disease.
(Click Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms for more information, including information about early symptoms of the disease.)
Making a Diagnosis
Diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis can be difficult in its early stages for several reasons. First, there is no single test for the disease. In addition, rheumatoid
arthritis symptoms differ from person to person and can be more severe in some people than in others.
To help diagnose rheumatoid arthritis and to rule our other conditions, doctors use a variety of tools. These include:
- A medical history
- A physical examination
- Laboratory tests
- X-rays.
(Click Diagnosing Rheumatoid Arthritis for more information on these specific tests.)
Treatment
Although rheumatoid
arthritis can have serious effects on a person's life and well-being, current treatment strategies (including pain-relieving drugs and medications that slow joint damage, a balance between rest and exercise, and patient education and support programs) allow most people with the disease to lead active and productive lives.
Current treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis include:
In recent years, research has led to a new understanding of rheumatoid arthritis and has increased the likelihood that, in time, researchers will find even better ways to treat the disease.
Some people may also consider alternative therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (see Alternative Therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis).
Progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis affects people differently. For some people, it lasts only a few months or a year or two and goes away without causing any noticeable damage. Other people have mild or moderate forms of the disease, with periods of worsening symptoms, called flares, and periods in which they feel better, called remissions. Others still have a severe form of rheumatoid arthritis that is active most of the time, lasts for many years or a lifetime, and leads to serious joint damage and disability.
