title: Frequency of infections among rheumatoid arthritis patients, before and after disease onset.
abstract: The self-reported frequency of genitourinary and bronchopulmonary infections in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in postmenopausal women with osteoarthritis and/or soft tissue rheumatism was compared. Neither before, nor after the onset of joint disease was a higher frequency reported by the RA patients. The previously established increased mortality from infectious disease among RA patients might be due to a more severe infectious disease course, leading to an increased case-fatality rate.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications*; D013997:Time Factors; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000150:complications*