Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Tami G., ENBREL patient since 1997

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease that affects approximately 1.3 million Americans nationwide.⁶ Here are some statistics on how RA can impact society:

General Statistics

• Women are 2 to 3 times more likely to get RA than men.⁶
• Age of onset is between 35 and 50 years.⁷
• RA can lead to chronic pain and irreversible joint damage, resulting in loss of function and disability.⁶
• Studies have shown that early diagnosis and subsequent aggressive treatment of RA can limit joint damage.⁶

Incidence

• RA is 2 to 3 times higher in women than men. Studies of three populations show that the incidence of RA in both women and men peaks in their sixties.⁸

Employment-Related Effects

• Among people with RA, work loss is usually higher among service workers and lower among those in jobs with few physical demands or in jobs where the individual has influence over the job pace and activities.⁸

Hospitalizations

• In 2004, there were 20,000 hospitalizations with RA as the principal diagnosis.⁸
• 85% of these hospitalizations were among people aged 45 years or older.⁸

Mortality

• In 1997, RA accounted for 22% of all deaths due to arthritis and other rheumatic conditions.⁸
• Data from 1965 to 1990 of North American mortality rates among people with RA revealed that people with RA are 2x more likely to die than people of the same age in the general population.⁸