Autoimmune Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases in the Elderly

Abstract

Nowadays, the importance of healthy and active aging is increasingly recognized due to the growing number of older individuals in the population. Autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases can affect people at any stage of life, significantly impacting both morbidity, mortality and overall quality of life. Rheumatologic conditions that develop later in life have distinct characteristics compared to those that manifest at a younger age. Practitioners need to be familiar with these differences in order to make a timely diagnosis. Often, the first symptoms in elderly patients are nonspecific, constitutional symptoms, which are easily overlooked. Since multiple comorbidities accompany older age, treatment regimens should be individually adjusted, taking into account that these patients are more susceptible to severe infections compared to younger patients. However, the right and effective treatment should be provided to all patients, regardless of age, helping them to have active, dignified, and fulfilling seniority. In this review, common rheumatologic diseases are described with their uniqueness regarding older age and treatment options that appear to be well tolerated, efficacious, and without significant side effects in this age group.