Please note: some data visualisations and functionality in our releases will be unavailable for short periods between 6pm Friday 30 October and 9pm Sunday 1 November due to AIHW Network Maintenance.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2020. Rheumatoid arthritis. Cat. no. PHE 252. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 31 October 2020, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Rheumatoid arthritis. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 25 August 2020, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Rheumatoid arthritis [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020 [cited 2020 Oct. 31]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2020, Rheumatoid arthritis, viewed 31 October 2020, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis
PDF | 557Kb
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect anyone at any age, and may cause significant pain and disability.
About 456,000 Australians (1.9% of the total population) have rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is most common in people aged 75 years or over
Rates of rheumatoid arthritis are slightly higher for women (2.3%) than men (1.5%)
In 2017–18, there were 12,045 hospitalisations for rheumatoid arthritis, a rate of 43 per 100,000 persons
This website needs JavaScript enabled in order to work correctly; currently it looks like it is disabled. Please enable JavaScript to use this website as intended.
We'd love to know any feedback that you have about the AIHW website, its contents or reports.
The browser you are using to browse this website is outdated and some features may not display properly or be accessible to you. Please use a more recent browser for the best user experience.