In addition to joints, several organs can be affected in rheumatoid arthritis. Coexisting
conditions with different pathomechanisms all contribute to disease activity, treatment
efficacy, mortality and quality of life. The wide selection of treatment options makes
it possible for rheumatologists to personalize treatment for their patients, which
in present practice mainly includes the consideration of established comorbidities
and contraindications. We suggest that further research can enable clinicians to take
into account the individual risk of the future development of comorbidities, when
making therapeutic decisions. Individual risk assessment could be mainly based on
biomarkers and the better understanding of the patomechanism of different coexisting
conditions, as we highlight with the examples of depression and interstitial lung
disease. This biomarker-based person-centred therapy can lead not only to the treatment
but ideally even the prevention of coexisting conditions, and can lead to better disease
control, survival and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis.
