Sparks JA, He X, Huang J, et al. - Researchers examined 1,419 patients diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for RA disease activity and risk of RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). At annual study visits, prospective measurement of Disease Activity Scores in 28 joints (DAS28) and covariate data was done. Review of images from clinically indicated chest computed tomography scans was done to determine the diagnosis of RA-ILD. Outcomes suggest that RA-ILD risk increased by 35% for each unit increase in the DAS28. This suggests an association of active articular RA with an increased risk of developing RA-ILD, thereby emphasizing a possible value of decreasing systemic inflammation in altering the natural history of RA-ILD development.