From the Guidelines
Osteoarthritis (OA) can affect any joint and may involve multiple joints simultaneously, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can affect more than 20 joints throughout the body, and gouty arthritis can progress to polyarticular involvement affecting multiple joints, with polyarticular gout defined as 4 or more joints, with arthritis involving more than 1 region, as described in the 2012 American College of Rheumatology guidelines for management of gout 1.
Joint Involvement Patterns
The different joint involvement patterns reflect the distinct pathophysiological mechanisms of each disease:
- Osteoarthritis results from mechanical wear and cartilage breakdown, often affecting individual joints, especially weight-bearing ones like knees, hips, and spine, but can involve any joint and may affect multiple joints simultaneously, especially in generalized OA.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease that characteristically affects multiple joints symmetrically, commonly targeting small joints of the hands and feet first before potentially progressing to larger joints, as discussed in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings article on the treatment approach to rheumatoid arthritis 1.
- Gouty arthritis initially presents as monoarticular arthritis, typically affecting a single joint such as the first metatarsophalangeal joint (big toe), but in chronic cases can progress to polyarticular involvement affecting multiple joints, with the extent of acute gouty arthritis attack varying based on the number of active joints, as outlined in the 2012 American College of Rheumatology guidelines for management of gout 1.
Key Points
- OA can affect any joint and may involve multiple joints simultaneously.
- RA can affect more than 20 joints throughout the body.
- Gouty arthritis can progress to polyarticular involvement affecting multiple joints.
- The joint involvement patterns reflect the distinct pathophysiological mechanisms of each disease.
- The management strategies for each disease are tailored to the specific joint involvement patterns and pathophysiological mechanisms, as discussed in the various studies and guidelines, including the EULAR recommendations for the management of hand osteoarthritis 1 and the EULAR recommendations for the management of knee osteoarthritis 1.
From the Research
Osteoarthritis (OA)
- Osteoarthritis can involve almost any joint but typically affects the hands, knees, hips, and feet 2, 3, 4, 5.
- The joints most commonly affected by OA are the knees, hips, small joints of the hands, spine, and the metatarsophalangeal joint of the great toe 3, 4, 5.
- OA may be present in many joints, but symptoms are usually evident in one or two joints at the most 5.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
- There are no research papers provided to assist in answering the question about the number of joints affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Gouty Arthritis
- There are no research papers provided to assist in answering the question about the number of joints affected by Gouty Arthritis.