Rheumatoid Arthritis Rising Among Women.

After four decades on the decline, rheumatoid arthritis is on the upswing among women in the United States. That's the finding presented by Mayo Clinic investigators. From 1955 to 1994, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis had continually been on the decline. That apparently changed beginning in the mid-1990s. Compared to the previous decade when approximately 36 women out of every 100,000 developed rheumatoid arthritis each year, the new study showed a jump to 54 women in the more recent decade. The incidence for men remained at about 29 per 100,000. Overall, the percentage of the entire population with the condition rose from 0.85 percent to 0.95 percent.