Rheumatic Disease in the Elderly: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Section snippets
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is now known to increase in incidence and prevalence up to approximately age 85. The prevalence of RA in persons 60 years of age and older is reported to be approximately 2% [1]. The issue of whether RA arising in the elderly population is a distinct disease from younger onset RA (YORA) is not settled. Differences in demographic and disease features such as sex, type of onset, involvement of large versus small joints, disease activity, and the rate of progression and
Polymyalgia rheumatica
PMR may be an overlapping syndrome with seronegative EORA [3]. Although the diagnosis of PMR frequently is straightforward, it can be elusive. Elderly patients may have musculoskeletal complaints related to underlying degenerative disease, neurologic syndromes, or other causes that can obscure the diagnostic picture. Patients who have PMR are classically older than 50 years of age (90% are older than 60), and most are white [48]. It is a syndrome characterized by pain and morning stiffness in
Summary
In old age, physiologic deterioration complicates the presentation of pathologic processes and handling of therapeutic substances. Despite developments in science and technology, controversies in understanding and managing arthritis in the elderly still exist. The impact of musculoskeletal problems on the function and lifestyle of elderly should stimulate clinicians to focus on improving diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that will minimize the sequela of RA in the geriatric population.
References (58)
- et al.
Elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis
Semin Arthritis Rheum
(1994) The differential diagnosis of generalized pain
Baillieres Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol
(1999)- et al.
Effects of celecoxib and rofecoxib on blood pressure and edema in patients > or = 65 years of age with systemic hypertension and osteoarthritis
Am J Cardiol
(2002) - et al.
Low dose adrenocorticosteroids in the management of elderly patients with rheumatoid arthrtitis
Semin Arthritis Rheum
(1983) - et al.
Infliximab (chimeric anti-tumour necrosis factor α monoclonal antibody) versus placebo in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving concomitant methotrexate: a randomized phase III trial
Lancet
(1999) - et al.
Efficacy, pharmacokinetic, and safety assessment of adalimumab, a fully human anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha monoclonal antibody, in adults with rheumatoid arthritis receiving concomitant methotrexate: a pilot study
Clin Ther
(2003) - et al.
Common rheumatologic diseases in elderly patients
Mayo Clin Proc
(1995) Epidemiologic and etiologic approach to osteoarthritis
Semin Arthritis Rheum
(1979)- et al.
Glucosamine sulfate modulates the levels of aggrecan and matrix metalloproteinase-3 synthesized by cultured human osteoarthritis articular chondrocytes
Osteoarthritis Cartilage
(2003) - et al.
Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in persons 60 years of age and older in the United States. Effect of different methods of case classification
Arthritis Rheum
(2003)
Rheumatoid arthritis in the aged. Incidence and optimal management
Drugs Aging
Rheumatoid arthritis in the elderly: is it a different disease?
Am J Med
Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases
Rheumatology (Oxford)
Evaluation of the 1987 revised criteria for rheumatoid arthritis in a cohort of newly diagnosed female patients
Arthritis Rheum
How many types of patients meet classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis?
J Rheumatol
The American Rheumatism Association 1987 revised criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis
Arthritis Rheum
Role of cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis
Annu Rev Immunol
The clinical features of elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis
Arthritis Rheum
Clinical features, scintiscan characteristics and X-ray progression of late onset rheumatoid arthritis
Clin Exp Rheumatol
Recent onset arthritis in the elderly: a five year longitudinal observational study
J Rheumatol
Older versus younger onset rheumatoid arthritis: results at onset and after 2 years of a prospective follow-up study of early rheumatoid arthritis
J Rheumatol
Filaggrin related antibodies among the aged
Ann Rheum Dis
Rheumatoid arthritis with the onset in old age
Acta Rheumatol Scand
A clinical study of older age rheumatoid arthritis with comparison to a younger onset group
J Rheumatol
Benign rheumatoid arthritis of the aged
BMJ
Outcome of rheumatoid arthritis in relation to age and rheumatoid factor at diagnosis
J Rheumatol
HLA markers and prediction of clinical course and outcome in rheumatoid arthritis
Arthritis Rheum
Analgesia and the patient with osteoarthritis
Am J Ther
Cited by (61)
Rheumatoid arthritis in elderly and young patients
2017, Revista Brasileira de ReumatologiaProduct intervention: User-centric design to fabrication
2023, Product Intervention: User-Centric Design to Fabrication
A version of this article originally appeared in the 21:3 issue of Clinics in Geriatric Medicine.