title: Literature review of rheumatoid arthritis in India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can lead to severe disability. This literature review assessed the descriptive epidemiology, comorbidities and extra-articular manifestations, functioning abilities and quality of life, and treatment patterns of RA patients in India.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature review of all observational studies published from 1985 to 2012 was conducted using MEDLINE and Embase. Quantitative and qualitative findings were summarized.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight studies were identified for data extraction. Seven described the descriptive epidemiology of RA, 14 described comorbidities and extra-articular manifestations, nine described the functioning abilities and quality of life among patients, and 10 provided information on treatments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review is confined to studies with small sample sizes, cross-sectional designs, and/or clinical settings that may not be representative of the entire Indian population. There is a need for more robust studies, as conclusions for the entire Indian RA population cannot be drawn from only the current observational studies.
authors.affiliation: Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Rohini
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Handa
authors.affiliation: Sri Deepti Rheumatology Centre, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: U R K
authors.initials: UR
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Evidera, Meta Research, Lexington, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Juliana F M
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Pfizer Inc., Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Gautam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rambhad
authors.affiliation: Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiff
authors.affiliation: Pfizer Inc., Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Canna J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ghia
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents
keywords: India; literature review; rheumatoid arthritis