Mayo Clinic researchers have determined the lifetime risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and six other autoimmune rheumatic diseases for both men and women. The findings appear online in Arthritis and Rheumatism.
"We estimated the lifetime risk for rheumatic disease for both sexes, something that had not been done before — separately or collectively," says Cynthia Crowson Mayo Clinic biostatistician and first author. "Prevalence and incidence rates existed, but prevalence figures underestimate individual risk and incidence rates express only a yearly estimate."
