You know you’re not alone — though it sure can feel like it sometimes. Here are some statistics and facts about Rheumatoid Arthritis.
At 1.5 Million people in the US, RA is the third most common type of arthritis.
According to the CDC, the most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis (30.8 million in the US) followed by gout (8.3 million in the US).
The prevalence of RA in American women is nearly double that in men
According to this study, In 1995, the prevalence of RA in American women (1.06%) was nearly double that in men (0.61%). The study notes however that because most data were derived from patients in Minnesota, they may not be generalizable beyond Caucasians.
The number of new RA cases seems to be going down since the ’60s
According to this study, The annual incidence rate of RA (The amount of people per 100,000 with RA) fell from 61 in 1955-1964 to 33 in 1985 – 1994
- Annual incidence per 100,000 population
Your changes of getting diagnosed with RA increase with age to a certain age. For women, it will increase till 55 to 64 before declining. For men, it will increase till 75-84.
- Annual Incidence Rate (per 100,000) in Men
- Annual Incidence Rate (per 100,000) in Women
Your ethnicity affects the likelihood of having RA
According to this study, native American-Indian populations have the highest recorded occurrence of RA. By contrast, there are a number of groups with a very low occurrence. Studies in rural African populations, failed to find any RA cases in studies of 500 and 2000 adults. Studies in populations from Southeast Asia, including China and Japan, have similarly shown very low occurrences
