<p>Life expectancy is influenced by many factors, including family history, overall health, and other lifestyle choices. Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating disease with serious physical, emotional, and economic consequences afflicting about 1% of the adult population of the world. The prevalence of the disease increases with age and affects two to three times as many women as men. The rheumatoid arthritis patient often faces:</p>
<p>•  increasing functional disability<br />
•  likelihood of work disability within 10 years after the onset of the disease<br />
•  dramatic reduction in earnings</p>
