Does rheumatoid arthritis shorten lifespan? if so, by how much, generally speaking?

Rheumatoid arthritis: per se does not result in "lost years" (statistical term for shortening life) thus the MORTALITY of the disease alone is negligible and mostly from the complications of this disorder....MORBIDITY or quality of life is it's major factor and this is being "dealt with" by the development of BIOLOGICAL DRUGS ......the outlook is GOOD! Hope this is helpful Dr Z

Yes: Rheumatoid Arthritis is a systemic disease which can have many associated complications including heart involvement.....That coupled with the morbidity of potent treatments could very well shorten life span....Dr. Murray Wellner