The changing incidence of rheumatoid arthritis over time in north-west Greece: data from a referral centre.

Our findings suggest a decrease in the incidence of RA over 40 years in a geographically defined Greek population. Also, the progressive decrease in the incidence of RF-positive disease may relate to less severe expression of RA in Greek patients. These trends could be explained by different clinical, serological, and genetic factors reported in Greece compared to northern European countries.