Study indicates incidence of rheumatoid arthritis increased 13 pc since 1990
Rheumatoid arthritis affected nearly 18 million people worldwide in 2021 -- an over 13 per cent rise in cases since 1990, a study has found.
According to the study, more young people are being diagnosed with this disease, which became geographically widespread with time.
Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune condition, occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its healthy tissues, especially those in joints, leading to inflammation, pain and stiffness.
The study, published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, found that population growth impacted the disease's burden in most countries, including India, Pakistan and Spain, while ageing impacted the most in Thailand, China and Poland.
The regions high on the sociodemographic index were hit the hardest, while those low witnessed an increase, it said.
"While previous Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies have provided important insights, they have largely focused on high-level descriptions and visualisations at global and national scales, failing to capture local disparities or the dynamic interactions between socioeconomic development and disease trends," said principal investigator Queran Lin from Imperial College London.
Coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, GBD studies analyse data from over 200 countries and territories to map trends in disease prevalence, severity and deaths attributable to 371 diseases between 1990 and 2021.
"In 2021, RA (rheumatoid arthritis) affected 17.9 million people globally, with a 13.2 per cent increase in incidence rate from 1990-2021, trending younger and broader," the authors wrote.
They were "able to generate the most granular disease burden estimates to date, offering a new framework for guiding precision public health across diverse populations", Lin said.
The study also projected that the regions with a low-middle sociodemographic index could see an increase in burden by 2040 due to ageing and population growth, while the burden in regions high on the index could decrease.
Controlling smoking could curb deaths due to the chronic disease in high-smoking regions (such as China) by 16.8 per cent and the burden on the population by over 20 per cent, the authors said.
Japan showed a decline in burden of rheumatoid arthritis (by over 22 per cent) despite having a high sociodemographic index, which the authors said might reflect nationwide early diagnosis programs, widespread use of biologic therapies and a diet rich in anti-inflammatory components.
The authors called for localised policies and resource allocation, particularly in the regions having low-middle sociodemographic index.
"Demographic changes and uneven health infrastructure exacerbated RA burdens and disparities worldwide, with high SDI areas hardest hit while low SDI regions saw increases. Trend analysis empowered targeted policies such as localised smoking control to address these inequities," the authors wrote.
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