What is rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic (whole body) disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally affects the thin, loose vascular connective tissue (synovial tissue) that makes up the membranes surrounding joints.

How do members experience rheumatoid arthritis?

Top 5 symptoms reported by people with rheumatoid arthritis*

*Reports may be affected by other conditions and/or medication side effects. We ask about general symptoms (anxious mood, depressed mood, fatigue, pain, and stress) regardless of condition.

Top treatments taken by people for rheumatoid arthritis*

*Data from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Compare treatments taken by people with rheumatoid arthritis*

Treatment
Perceived effectiveness
Side effects
Total evaluations
Tried for
Treatment

(Apo-Methotrexate)
Perceived effectiveness
for rheumatoid arthritis (12 evaluations)
Side effects
diarrhea ear infection 6 more
Total evaluations
12
Tried for
rheumatoid arthritis (23)
Treatment

(Humira)
Perceived effectiveness
for rheumatoid arthritis (17 evaluations)
Side effects
headaches sinus infection (sinusitis) 1 more
Total evaluations
17
Tried for
rheumatoid arthritis (21)
Treatment

(Orencia)
Perceived effectiveness
for rheumatoid arthritis (6 evaluations)
Side effects
chronic fatigue diarrhea 5 more
Total evaluations
6
Tried for
rheumatoid arthritis (14)
Treatment

(Enbrel)
Perceived effectiveness
for rheumatoid arthritis (5 evaluations)
Side effects
breakout on skin with what looks like acne but painful to touch weight gain
Total evaluations
5
Tried for
rheumatoid arthritis (14)
Treatment

(Arava)
Perceived effectiveness
for rheumatoid arthritis (6 evaluations)
Side effects
diarrhea headaches
Total evaluations
6
Tried for
rheumatoid arthritis (13)

*Data from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Who has rheumatoid arthritis on PatientsLikeMe?

Age

Age Proportion # of patients
<20 18
20s 274
30s 1,294
40s 3,570
50s 7,967
60s 9,231
70+ 4,681

Distribution of sex

Sex

Sex Proportion # of patients
Male 2,643
Female 24,734