Vandenbroucke J P, Kaaks R, Valkenburg H A, Boersma J W, Cats A, Festen J J, Hartman A P, Huber-Bruning O, Rasker J J, Weber J
Arthritis Rheum. 1987 Jul;30(7):810-3. doi: 10.1002/art.1780300711.
The self-reported frequency of genitourinary and bronchopulmonary infections in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in postmenopausal women with osteoarthritis and/or soft tissue rheumatism was compared. Neither before, nor after the onset of joint disease was a higher frequency reported by the RA patients. The previously established increased mortality from infectious disease among RA patients might be due to a more severe infectious disease course, leading to an increased case-fatality rate.
