| Although some individuals have mild symptoms that resolve, most people experience progressive disease over the course of their lifetime. The individual's age, the rate of disease progression, the severity of the disease, which joints and how many joints are involved, organ system involvement, the response to treatment, and the pattern of remissions and exacerbations all affect the length of disability.
New onset cases with today's disease modifying treatment will usually be able to stay at work, while cases with onsets greater than 10 years ago may have enough destructive arthritis to be permanently unable to do heavy work. |
Source: Medical Disability Advisor