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Rheumatoid Arthritis On The Rise Worldwide, AI-Powered Study Estimates

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on June 16, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 16, 2025 — Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has steadily increased around the world during the past three decades, a new AI-powered study reports.

The autoimmune disease affected 17.9 million people worldwide in 2021, a 13% increase from 1990, researchers reported today in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Results indicate that the global burden of RA has been vastly underestimated, researchers concluded.

Further, the research team projects that rheumatoid arthritis will continue to increase unless steps are taken to prevent it or treat existing cases.

“Our long-term forecasts predict a continued rise in RA incidence, emphasizing the need for dietary adjustments, accessible medical policies, and innovative treatments such as cell therapy,” concluded the research ream led by Queran Lin, a clinical research fellow in epidemiology at Imperial College London in the U.K.

For the study, researchers analyzed rheumatoid arthritis data from 953 locations around the world between 1980 and 2021, using an AI program to calculate the number of years people suffer from disability or lose to early death because of the disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system attacks the tissue lining a person’s joints, causing pain, swelling and stiffness.

Results show that the death rate for RA has declined significantly, falling 32% between 1980 and 2021.

But disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) nearly doubled between 1990 to 2021. That's a measure of the number of years people lose to early death or wind up living with disability due to RA, researchers found.

Higher case rates of rheumatoid arthritis were seen in Western Europe and North America, and lower rates in Africa, the study says.

West Berkshire in the U.K. had the highest rate of RA, while people in Zacatecas, Mexico, had the highest levels of disability-adjusted life years, results show.

Only Japan showed declining RA trends, exemplified by a 22% drop in Tokyo’s rate of disability-adjusted life years since 1990, researchers found.

“Japan’s sustained decline in DALYs despite a high sociodemographic index proves that socioeconomic status alone doesn’t dictate outcomes,” co-lead author Boazhen Huang of the City University of Hong Kong said in a news release. “Proactive healthcare policies such as early diagnosis programs can reverse trends.”

For example, Japan has nationwide programs aimed at diagnosing RA early, and has widespread use of biologic therapies to treat the disease, researchers said. Japanese diets also are rich in anti-inflammatory nutrients.

People older than 55 tended to have the highest rates of rheumatoid arthritis. But since 2015, the age of RA onset has been trending toward younger age groups, especially ages 20 to 54, results show.

The study also found that implementing health policies can lower a country’s burden of rheumatoid arthritis.

For example, China could lower RA-related deaths by nearly 17% and disability-adjusted life years by nearly 21% among its men by implementing policies that deter smoking, researchers estimate.

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted June 2025

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