title: [Demographic and clinical features of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Piauí, Brazil--evaluation of 98 patients].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Brazilian epidemiological studies on rheumatoid arthritis are scarce, mainly in the northeast; thus many data currently available originate from the international literature.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe demographic, clinical and serological characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) followed-up by the same physician, in state of Piauí, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected between August 2010 and March 2013, in three health services of Piauí that provided health care in Rheumatology: a university-affiliated hospital, a public outpatient clinic and a private clinic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The numbers represent mean ± SD or percentage: 47.5±11.03 years-old non-Caucasian woman, non-smoker (59.2%), low educational level, mean disease duration of 7.7 years ± 7.6, and major extra-articular manifestations were rheumatoid nodules (19.4%) and sicca syndrome (46.9%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Features of rheumatoid arthritis obtained in this study are similar to those found in some national and international studies, but we observed higher female preponderance and illiteracy rate, in addition to a moderately severe erosive disease on average, with frequent sicca and other extra-articular manifestations.
authors: Universidade Federal do Piauí, Teresina, PI, Brasil. Electronic address: esteios@uol.com.br.
authors: Maria do Socorro Teixeira Moreira
authors: Mdo S
authors: Almeida
authors: Universidade Federal do Piauí, Teresina, PI, Brasil.
authors: João Vicente Moreira
authors: JV
authors: Almeida
authors: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brasil.
authors: Manoel Barros
authors: MB
authors: Bertolo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Artrite reumatoide; Epidemiologia; Epidemiology; Nordeste brasileiro; Northeastern Brazil; Rheumatoid arthritis