RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis C in those age 60 and older in a US population based study. JF The Journal of Rheumatology JO J Rheumatol FD The Journal of Rheumatology SP 455 OP 458 VO 30 IS 3 A1 Florence C Hsu A1 Gordon Starkebaum A1 Edward J Boyko A1 Jason A Dominitz YR 2003 UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/30/3/455.abstract AB OBJECTIVE: A positive association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been reported in clinic based cross sectional studies. We investigated if RA and HCV are associated in a population based survey. METHODS: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, hepatitis C and RA status were determined for subjects > or = 60 years of age. RA was defined to be present when 3 of 6 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria were met. RESULTS: Of 6596 subjects, 1827 (27.7%) were excluded due to missing data. Of the remaining 4769, 196 subjects (4.1%) met our modified ACR criteria for probable RA: 63 tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies (1.3%) while 35 were HCV RNA positive (0.7%). Two subjects had both HCV antibodies and RA, while one subject was both HCV RNA positive and had RA. HCV antibody positivity was not associated with RA (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.07-2.80). Similarly, HCV positivity by polymerase chain reaction was not associated with RA (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.10-6.19). CONCLUSION: These results argue against a potential role for HCV in the etiology of RA in the US population aged 60 years and over.