Arthritis Foundation - Types of Arthritis

Types of Arthritis

While the Arthritis Foundation supports interventions for all types of arthritis and related conditions with information and other assistance, the organization concentrates on three forms of the disease:

• Osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown of joint cartilage. It's the most common form of arthritis, affecting 27 million Americans, most over the age of 45.
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a systemic autoimmune disease that affects the entire body and is characterized by the inflammation of the membrane lining the joint, causing stiffness, warmth, redness and swelling. An estimated 1.5 million Americans have RA, which attacks twice as many women as men.
• Juvenile arthritis (JA), which affects 294,000 American children and can cause joint swelling and pain, eye inflammation, activity limitations and growth problems.

The Arthritis Foundation also provides helpful information and tips about other types of arthritis, including (but not limited to):

• Lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood and kidneys. It affects at least 239,000 Americans, eight to 10 times more women than men.
• Gout, which affects an estimated 3 million Americans, causing sudden, severe attacks of pain, redness, warmth and swelling in some joints, often the big toe, and affecting more men than women.
• Fibromyalgia, an arthritis-related condition characterized by general muscular pain and fatigue that affects about 5 million Americans, more often women than men.
• Psoriatic arthritis, a type of chronic inflammatory arthritis associated with the skin condition psoriasis, affecting 2 percent of the U.S. population.