Epidemiology of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Korea

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterised by symmetrical involvement of the joints, associated extra-articular manifestations and functional disability. In Korea, several epidemiologic studies reporting prevalence and incidence rates of RA have been conducted using large databases such as claims databases, national surveys, prospective cohort databases or electronic health records; according to these data sources, the estimated prevalence ranged from 0.27% to 1.85%. The prevalence of extra-articular manifestations such as interstitial lung disease (ILD) and Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) were also reported, but an issue of external validity of the study results persisted. In this review, we detail the epidemiology of Korean RA patients, focusing on the prevalence of RA and the frequency of systemic extra-articular manifestations including ILD and SS reported in previous studies. In addition, we discuss the current methodological issues which are inherent in Korean epidemiologic studies for patients with RA with understanding of the characteristics of each database.