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Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Rheumatic Disease in Geriatrics

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most prevalent rheumatic diseases in the elderly and affects at least 2% of the population of ≥60 years of age in the US. The peak age of the RA onset has become older worldwide, being gradually shifted from the fourth decade of life in the 1930s to the sixth and even to the seventh decade of life in 2010s. In the elderly patients, both new-onset RA or flare of the established disease, if not diagnosed fast and treated appropriately, can rapidly lead to sometimes grave consequences including functional deterioration, physical dependence, and depression. While the majority of elderly patients with RA have signs and symptoms of a prototypical classic RA, seen in all ages, unusual presentations, including polymyalgia-like late-onset RA and Remitting Symmetric Seronegative Synovitis with Pitting Edema are common and should be recognized by primary care providers. General principles of the pharmacological treatment include fast achievement of the state of low disease activity and individual adjustment of continuous treatment with synthetic or biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rheumatology Unit, Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel

    Gleb Slobodin

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  1. Gleb Slobodin
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Correspondence to Gleb Slobodin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rheumatology Unit, Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel

    Gleb Slobodin

  2. Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel

    Yehuda Shoenfeld

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Slobodin, G. (2020). Rheumatoid Arthritis. In: Slobodin, G., Shoenfeld, Y. (eds) Rheumatic Disease in Geriatrics . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44234-7_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44234-7_13

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