Early rheumatoid arthritis typically affects smaller joints first, particularly those connecting fingers to hands and toes to feet. As the disease progresses, symptoms often extend to wrists, knees, ankles, elbows, hips, and shoulders. Generally, symptoms are symmetrical, occurring in the same joints on both sides of the body.
Initial symptoms include bodily pain and weakness, which may evolve over weeks or months into more pronounced signs like joint swelling. The onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) usually begins around age 30, but it can develop later, even into the 60s. Factors like cigarette smoking can significantly increase the risk of developing RA.
Fatigue is a common early symptom, resulting from the body’s response to inflammation in joints and other areas. This fatigue can be particularly challenging to manage. The typical age range for an RA diagnosis is between 30 and 50 years, with early onset considered before 30. In RA, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells, with symptoms varying from subtle to rapid onset.
Risk factors for RA include age, with the likelihood increasing over time, and the highest onset in adults in their sixties. Gender also plays a role, with most diagnoses occurring between ages 30 and 60, and men less likely to be diagnosed before age 45. RA can be categorized as young-onset rheumatoid arthritis (YORA) and later-onset rheumatoid arthritis (LORA).
For more detailed information on RA, you can visit Mayo Clinic, Healthline, Rheumatoid Arthritis.org, and Verywell Health for comprehensive guides on early signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
