What Are The Main Indicators Of Poor Prognosis In Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, systemic, autoimmune disease that affects more than 2.1 million Americans. Because it is a systemic disease, rheumatoid arthritis can affect internal organs. There is abundant evidence indicating that the chronic inflammation leads to significant problems with mortality related to early cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke and lymphoma.
Morbidity- meaning the adverse effects of a disease that don0t necessarily result in death is also a significant problem for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Morbidity is most commonly manifested in disability.
When a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is made, a patient will often have several questions regarding the future and what to expect. They will also wonder about their long term prognosis. Concerns about disability, crippling, and expected effects on life span often crop up.
Probably the one factor that determines long-term prognosis the best is timing of diagnosis. The earlier a patient gets diagnosed and treated, the better the prognosis. With rheumatoid arthritis, once damage occurs to the joints and/or surrounding structures and internal organs, it cannot be reversed.
Another factor governing diagnosis is age at the time of diagnosis.
Aggressive disease occurring in a young person carries a poorer prognosis than in an older person, primarily […]

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