Rheumatoid Factor Overview

Rheumatoid factor is an antibody your immune system makes. But, unlike other antibodies, it doesn’t fight germs and infections. Instead, it can damage healthy tissue in your body. Providers test for it using a blood test. A rheumatoid factor test can help providers diagnose certain autoimmune diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis.

What is Rheumatoid Factor?

Rheumatoid factor (RF) is a type of antibody.

Usually, your immune system makes and uses antibodies to protect you. They’re special proteins that act like an army of security robots that find and destroy germs, allergens or toxins in your blood. When your immune system detects a new, unwanted substance in your body, it makes antibodies customized to find and destroy that invader.

Your immune system makes rheumatoid factor by mistake or when it’s overactive. Because RF doesn’t have a specific target like other antibodies, it sometimes attacks and damages healthy tissue throughout your body. This can cause some autoimmune disease.

What are Symptoms of High Rheumatoid Factor?

Which symptoms you experience vary depending on what’s causing your high rheumatoid factor level. Some people have high RF levels and never experience any symptoms. It’s also possible to have a high rheumatoid factor for no apparent reason or without a specific cause.

Where you experience symptoms and their severity depends on where your immune system damages healthy tissue in your body. Some of the most common symptoms of high rheumatoid factor include:

  • Pain, especially joint pain.
  • Swelling (inflammation).
  • Skin discoloration.
  • A feeling of warmth or heat.
  • Fatigue (feeling tired all the time).
  • Frequent fever

What is a Rheumatoid Factor (RF) Test?

A rheumatoid factor test is a blood test providers use to measure how much rheumatoid factor is in your blood. They’ll take a sample of blood and send it to a lab for analysis. An RF test on its own can’t diagnose or confirm any health conditions you may have. But it can help your provider rule certain issues out or help them narrow in on a diagnosis.

When is the Rheumatoid Factor (RF) Test performed?

A rheumatoid factor test can help a provider diagnose autoimmune diseases, including:

Providers sometimes use RF tests to diagnose chronic (long-term) infections, including:

  • Hepatitis C
  • Tuberculosis (TB)
  • Infective endocarditis

Rheumatoid Factor (RF) Ranges

The onset of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, cancers, and bacterial infections can all affect RF levels. As a result, these levels may be difficult to assess in isolation.

Some doctors define normal RF levels as 0–20 units per milliliter (u/ml) of blood. On the other hand, one 2012 study designated the upper limit of regular levels as 25 u/ml.

An individual’s risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis typically increases with their RF level.

The authors of the 2012 study report that a patient with an RF level of 100 u/ml or higher may be up to 26 times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than a person with an RF level of under 25 u/ml.

A 2017 review of rheumatoid arthritis biomarkers describes these figures as important diagnostic and prognostic information.

Rheumatoid Factor (RF) Test Results

A positive rheumatoid factor test result indicates that a high level of rheumatoid factor was detected in the patient’s blood.

A higher level of rheumatoid factor in the blood is closely associated with autoimmune disease, particularly rheumatoid arthritis. But a number of other diseases and conditions can raise rheumatoid factor levels, including:

Some healthy people, particularly older individuals, have positive rheumatoid factor tests, though it’s not clear why. And some people who have rheumatoid arthritis will have low levels of rheumatoid factor in their blood.

A high concentration of RF can be a sign of inflammation and autoimmune disruption.

Around 80% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have significant concentrations of RF in their blood. In the early stages of arthritis, about 30% of patients may have raised levels of RF.

However, higher levels of RF can also occur in other conditions. Autoantibodies can also occur as part of the natural aging process.

If a person has unusually high RF levels and also experiences symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, it is likely they have rheumatoid arthritis.

Some signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include the following:

  • Fatigue
  • Pain and stiffness in the joints
  • Loss of range of motion
  • Nodules under the skin
  • Swelling and inflammation in the joints

How high the patients RF levels are, will factor into a doctor’s diagnosis. Very high levels can be more indicative of rheumatoid arthritis than lower levels, as this points to more activity in the immune system.

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Specifically, aamples available include cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

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In particular, critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

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