Late-onset spondyloarthritis

Abstract:

Inflammatory rheumatic diseases in the elderly show certain specificities in terms of clinical picture and associated comorbidities which may influence their diagnosis and therapeutic decisions. The onset of spondyloarthritis (SpA) in the elderly is rare yet there is an increasing number of studies showing its higher incidence, which is also associated with longer life expectancy. The spectrum of clinical manifestations of late-onset arthritis (late-onset SpA) is diverse, but there are still some special features in relation to the disease that occurs at an earlier age. These features are best studied in axial spondyloarthritis / ankylosing spondylitis (AS), which usually occurs in people younger than 40-45 years, while the onset of symptoms after the age of 50 is rare, so the age limit is included in newer classification criteria. For other SpA entities, including psoriatic arthritis (PsA), there is less data on late-onset because their onset is not that much age-related as possible, although there is some knowledge about specific disease characteristics in these patients. Data on the prevalence of late-onset spondyloarthritis are not exact, but it is estimated to 3-8% of patients.

Key words:
clinical picture; late-onset; spondyloarthritis