Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Anaemia

'Anaemia of RA' is a particular example of anaemia of chronic disorders, and is the commonest type of anaemia in RA. The haemoglobin levels are usually around 10 g/dL, and tend to vary inversely with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and other markers of disease activity.

Reference

• Garcia Rodriguez LA, Jick H. Risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and perforation associated with individual non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Lancet 1994; 343: 769-772.
• Davis D, Charles PJ, Potter A, Feldmann M, Maini RN, Elliott MJ. Anaemia of chronic disease in rheumatoid arthritis: in vivo effects of tumour necrosis factor alpha blockade. Br J Rheumatol 1997; 36(9): 950-956.
• Wollheim F A. Rheumatoid arthritis - the clinical picture. In: Maddison PS, Isenberg DA, Woo P, Glass DN (eds). Oxford Textbook of Rheumatology vol 2. Oxford Medical Publications, 1993; p 639-661.