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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Mortality Rates Improve for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

  |  Issue: October 2014  |  

She also says, though, that recent research suggests that people with RA may age at an accelerated rate compared with those without RA, adding fuel to the need for early aggressive treatment.

“The systemic inflammation that characterizes RA puts people with the disease at risk of accelerated aging and early mortality,” she says. “Early, aggressive treatment is our best means of addressing these risks.”

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Mary Beth Nierengarten is a freelance medical journalist based in St. Paul, Minn.

References

  1. Norton S, et al. Excess mortality in rheumatoid arthritis: Gains in life expectancy over 25 years. BSR. 2014; Abstract O34.
  2. Humphreys JH, Warner A, Chipping J. Mortality trends in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis over 20 years: Results from the Norfolk Arthritis Register. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2014 Sep;66(9):1296–1301.

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