Overall, our analyses indicated that among RA patients in this Pittsburgh RACER cohort, smoking, abstinence from alcohol, lower education level, being retired or disabled, being separated/divorced/widowed, having an annual income under $25 K, higher BMI, and shorter RA disease duration (≤ 2 vs. 2–10 years) were independently associated with high RA disease activity (as defined by DAS28-CRP scores). This evidence concerns the gene CRP and rheumatoid arthritis.