title: Incidence of rheumatoid arthritis is not related to indicators of socioeconomic deprivation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the role of socioeconomic factors in susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective population based register of inflammatory joint disease (NOAR) recruited 687 adults between 1990 and 1992, of whom 50% satisfied ARA criteria for RA at presentation. Using census data, social class specific incidence rates were calculated for both sexes. A correlation analysis was undertaken examining the association between incidence rates and 5 indicators of socioeconomic status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no trend of increasing incidence with declining social class. None of the 5 indicators examined showed any evidence of association with incidence (rs range 0.0-0.3).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In contrast to the data on factors influencing outcome in established RA, the socioeconomic status variables examined did not explain susceptibility patterns in the population studied.
authors.affiliation: ARC Epidemiology Research Unit, University of Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bankhead
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Silman
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Symmons
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors