Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease on an autoimmune basis that primarily affects the joints, but it affects the entire body and over time, especially if not properly treated, can lead to cardiovascular, neurological, renal, ocular, pulmonary, etc. complications.
Rheumatoid arthritis can occur at any time of life, even in children or adolescents (juvenile arthritis), however, the prevalent age of onset is between 35 and 50 years.
The likelihood of being affected, if one is genetically predisposed to the disease, increases with advancing age; women tend to be affected 2-3 times more than men, for reasons that remain to be determined.
