Secondary amyloidosis has decreased in patients with inflammatory joint disease in Finland.
We studied whether the high incidence of secondary amyloidosis (SA) is a consistent finding in patients with inflammatory joint disease. A total of 4508 biopsies of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis were studied at the Rheumatism Foundation Hospital during 1987-1997. The results show that the annual number of findings of SA was reduced from 68 to less than 10. We suggest that a change in medication towards more frequent use of cytostatic agents is the reason for the reduction in incidence of SA.
Laiho
K
K
Rheumatism Foundation Hospital, Heinola, Finland.
Tiitinen
S
S
Kaarela
K
K
Helin
H
H
Isomäki
H
H
D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000150:complications; D015535:Arthritis, Psoriatic / Q000150:complications*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications