Which type of anemia is seen in Rheumatoid ahritis?
High-Yield Explanation
Anemia of chronic illness traditionally encompassed any inflammatory, infectious, or malignant disease of a long-standing nature. Includes rheumatoid ahritis, severe trauma, hea disease, or diabetes mellitus. There is primarily a decreased availability of iron, relatively decreased levels of erythropoietin, and a mild decrease in the lifespan of RBCs to 70-80 days. Early onset rheumatoid ahritis with positive rheumatoid factor is more likely to have normocytic normochromic anemia.