Epidemiology

The global prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is estimated to be between 0.24% and 0.56%.[2][3][4]​​​

In North America, studies report age-adjusted prevalence ranging from 0.44% to 0.55%.[2][9] Among an insured population in the US, RA prevalence in females exceeded that of males (0.73% to 0.78% vs. 0.29% to 0.31%, respectively).[9] Global prevalence data suggest a similar trend regarding the sex-specific burden of disease (0.35% vs. 0.13% for females and males, respectively).[2]

Globally, an age-standardised annual incidence rate of 14.9 per 100,000 has been reported.[3] In the US and western Europe, age-standardised incidence rates for RA were 22.5 per 100,000 and 20.4 per 100,000, respectively.

A higher incidence and prevalence of RA has been demonstrated in people who smoke, and people with overweight or obesity.[10]​ The increased risk of RA for people who smoke is dependent on the amount smoked per day combined with number of years they smoked.[10][11][12][13]​​

Some reports have suggested a declining incidence of RA.[14][15]​ However, data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study indicate that incidence is increasing.[3] Greater reported incidence and prevalence in industrialised regions may reflect geographical risk differences. Some evidence indicates that socioeconomic inequality may have an effect on reported incidence and prevalence of RA.[16]​ Poor case reporting in resource-limited healthcare settings and changing methodology in RA classification may contribute to discrepancies between epidemiological data sets.[15]

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