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Mortality Higher in Some
with Rheumatoid Arthritis
NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - Rheumatoid arthritis
may raise the risk of death in older women, study findings suggest.
In the report, elderly women with rheumatoid arthritis who tested
positive for rheumatoid factor, a type of antibody found in the
blood of most patients with the disease, were 90% more likely to
die during the 10-year study period than healthy women. But women
with rheumatoid arthritis who were not positive for rheumatoid factor
had no greater death risk than healthy women, the researchers report
in the October issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Rheumatoid arthritis
is a chronic inflammatory condition in which the body's own immune
system attacks the tissue lining the joints. It can also damage
other parts of the body, such as the heart, lungs and kidneys.
The findings point to
a growing health problem among women as the population ages, conclude
Dr. Ted R. Mikuls from the University of Alabama at Birmingham
and colleagues.
"Our findings provide
important insight into the impact of rheumatoid arthritis on a
demographic group commonly affected by the disease," they write.
"Future research must focus on identifying modifiable risk factors
for mortality in this rheumatoid arthritis population."
At this point, they add,
it is not clear how rheumatoid arthritis affects survival. They
note that several aspects of the disease, such as the number of
swollen joints and the degree of functional disability, have been
individually linked to an increased mortality risk.
While there was some
evidence that women with rheumatoid arthritis were more likely
to die from infection or circulatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis
patients did not appear to have an increased risk of dying from
cancer.
The study began in 1986
and included more than 31,000 women aged 55 to 69 years without
a history of rheumatic arthritis. Over the following decade, 158
women were diagnosed with the disorder.
SOURCE: Annals of Rheumatic
Diseases 2002;61:994-999.
Reference
Source 89
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