Seniors with RA Cope Well

Older individuals with rheumatoid arthritis(RA) appeared to have no problems withtheir daily activities, according to a studyreported in the Annals of the RheumaticDiseases (January 2005). The researchersbased their findings on analysis of healthdata on 600 men and women older than 75from one Finnish town. Of the participants,16, or 3%, had been diagnosed with RA.

Of the RA patients, the results of thestudy found that half received the bestpossible score on a standard scale, comparedwith 40% of the rest of the participants.The scale measured independencein daily activities like walking, stairclimbing, dressing, and bathing. Theresearchers found, however, that 3 RApatients (19%) fell into the category ofseverely disabled, compared with 4% ofmen and women without the disease.