RA can happen at any age, but it’s most likely to show up between ages 30 and 50. When it starts between ages 60 and 65, it’s called elderly-onset RA or late-onset RA. It can be hard to spot this condition. Your doctor has to figure out if it’s really late-onset or if you’ve had the disease for years.
Elderly-onset RA also has symptoms that overlap with other diseases, like:
- Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)
- Late-onset psoriatic arthritis
- Crystal arthritis
- Viral arthritis
- Osteoarthritis
- Rotator cuff tendinitis
- Hypothyroidism
- Parkinson’s disease