Definition
Incidence
and Prevalence
Morbidity
and Mortality
Risk
Factors:
Protective
Factors
Detection
and Conclusion
References
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Epidemiology
of Adult Rheumatoid Arthritis.
MORTALITY
AND MORBIDITY
It is now considered as a malignant disease and
with increase mortality and morbidity
and poor prognosis. Life expectancy decreases by 3-10 years
according to severity and age of onset of disease. It is
debilitating disease and limit the patient daily activities. It is also
associated with serious co morbid conditions like infections ( common cause
of death in developing countries) cardiovascular disease[25], respiratory
disease [26]etc.
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Drugs taken for this disease are associated with
serious side effects. Depression is more common in rheumatoid
arthritis patients due to pain ,economic burden ,lose of work which
ultimately leads to suicide.
Suicide and RA
A prospective
study[27] with 13-yr
follow-up ,data taken from national hospital discharge registers of
all suicides (1296 males, 289 females) committed during the years
1988–2000 in Finland. |
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Results show 52.6% women with rheumatoid
arthritis committed suicide as against 17.3%
women with non RA. 90% of RA women were suffering from depressive
disorders before suicide. RA males were less depressive but committed
suicide after short period of disease.
Disability and RA.[28]
Cohort study
done to determine the impact
of rheumatoid arthritis on employment status in the early years of
diagnosis. Two cohorts of
patient were chosen with
similar employment status and cohort 1 with 162 patients and disease onset
between 1989 and1992 and cohort 2 with 134 patients and disease onset
between 1994 and 1997. The rates for work disability for the RA cases 1,
2, 5 and 10 yr after symptom onset were 14, 26, 33 and 39% respectively.
For cohort 2, the rates for work disability 1 and 2 yr from onset were 23
and 33%
respectively. This
shows the aggressive nature of this disease.
ECONOMIC
BURDEN OF DISEASE .
Rheumatoid arthritis posses great economic burden
on patients due to expensive
drugs ,multiple hospitalisation, rehabilitation costs and absence from
work. A systemic review by
Cooper NJ. of
University of East Anglia, Norwich , UK estimates
average cost of UKŁ3575-Ł3638 per
patient per year.
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