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Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Book cover Primer on the Rheumatic Diseases

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects all ethnic groups throughout the world. Females are 2.5 times more likely to be affected than males. The onset of disease can occur at any age but peak incidence occurs within the fourth and fifth decades of life. The average annual incidence of RA in the United States is 0.5 per 1000 persons per year (1). The overall prevalence of RA is 1% to 2%, and it steadily increases to 5% in women by the age of 70 (2). However, there are differences in prevalence rates of RA in various ethnic groups, ranging from 0.1% in rural Africans to 5% in Pima or Chippewa Indians (3). Many factors contribute to the risk of developing RA and are reviewed in the following chapter (see Chapter 6B).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical and Molecular Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Christopher V. Tehlirian MD (Post-Doctoral Fellow)

  2. Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Joan M. Bathon MD (Professor, Director)

Authors
  1. Christopher V. Tehlirian MD
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  2. Joan M. Bathon MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GA, USA

    John H. Klippel MD (President and CEO) (President and CEO)

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    John H. Stone MD, MPH (Associate Physician, Deputy Editor for Rheumatology) (Associate Physician, Deputy Editor for Rheumatology)

  3. Division of Rheumatology & Women’s Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Leslie J. Crofford MD (Gloria W. Singletary Professor of Internal Medicine, Chief) (Gloria W. Singletary Professor of Internal Medicine, Chief)

  4. Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Patience H. White MD, MA (Chief Public Health Officer) (Chief Public Health Officer)

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Tehlirian, C.V., Bathon, J.M. (2010). Rheumatoid Arthritis. In: Klippel, J.H., Stone, J.H., Crofford, L.J., White, P.H. (eds) Primer on the Rheumatic Diseases. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68566-3_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68566-3_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-35664-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-68566-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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