Clinical and preclinical pulmonary disease in newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis: a two-year follow-up study.

Emphysema and bronchiectasis were common, but most patients had mild disease with preserved lung function. Preclinical or clinical ILD was seen in a minority in this early phase of RA. These findings suggest symptom-based screening and primary intervention focusing on smoking cessation rather than screening for ILD at the time of RA diagnosis.