WHEN DOES RHEUMATOID DISEASE START

Stored serum specimens collected in connection with a community-oriented epidemiologic study were available from 30 subjects who later developed seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. In 9 of these pre-rheumatoid specimens, the Rose-Waaler test result was positive and in 16, the latex fixation test was positive; 2/3 of the samples were positive when the interval between taking the blood specimen and onset of the disease was < 4 yr; and 1/3 were positive when the interval was .gtoreq. 4 yr. The occurrence of rheumatoid factor preceded the onset of clinical disease more often in males than in females.