ABC of Rheumatology: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS--I: CLINICAL FEATURES AND DIAGNOSIS
| Autor: | R S Amos, M Akil |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1995 |
| Předmět: |
musculoskeletal diseases
medicine.medical_specialty Population Disease Arthritis Rheumatoid Internal medicine Life insurance medicine Humans skin and connective tissue diseases education General Environmental Science education.field_of_study business.industry Incidence (epidemiology) General Engineering General Medicine medicine.disease Rheumatology Rheumatoid arthritis Etiology Physical therapy General Earth and Planetary Sciences Joints Polyarthritis business Research Article |
| Zdroj: | BMJ. 310:587-590 |
| ISSN: | 1468-5833 0959-8138 |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmj.310.6979.587 |
| Popis: | Rheumatoid arthritis is the commonest disorder of connective tissues and is an important cause of disability, morbidity, and mortality. Life expectancy is reduced by four years in men and by 10 years in women, though this reduction is accounted for by a minority of patients with more severe disease. Nevertheless, patients with this condition may be offered life insurance only on the basis of loaded premiums. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs worldwide with variable incidence and severity. In Western countries, it affects up to 1-3% of the population, although many are not severely affected and may not seek medical advice at all. Overall, there is a 3:1 female preponderance, but this excess is greater in young people and the age related incidence is approximately equal in elderly people. #### Factors associated with poorer prognosis in rheumatoid arthritis The aetiology of rheumatoid arthritis remains unclear, but there is evidence of genetic predisposition to the disease. The presence of HLA-DR4 is significantly commoner among sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis who are white. Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with only certain subtypes of HLA-DR4 (HLA-Dw4 and HLA-Dw14); susceptibility is related to a shared epitope on the HLA molecule. #### Rheumatoid arthritis in women The start of the disease is usually insidious but can be episodic or acute. Rheumatoid arthritis usually presents as a polyarthritis affecting small joints or small and large joints. Early disease is characterised by pain … |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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