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used RA drugs called disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs may play a role in the development of dementia.right up arrow Yet, biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs may decrease the risk of dementia by 17 percent compared with conventional DMARDs, according to research presented at the 2020 virtual annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.right up arrow More research is needed, however, as other studies have shown conflicting results, including a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease for RA patients (dementia is a symptom of Alzheimer's disease), according to a study published in October 2017 in Scientific Reports,right up arrow and a reduced risk of dementia for patients using DMARDs, per an article published in November 2017 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.right up arrow Does Rheumatoid Arthritis Cause Cancer? People with RA are known to have an increased risk of lymphomas (cancer of the lymph nodes), particularly non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The overall incidence of lymphomas among people with RA is almost twice as high as in the general population, research shows. Past studies have suggested that newer versions of DMARDs, called biologic DMARDs, may be partly to blame. But a large study first published in August 2017 in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases showed that RA treatment doesn't affect lymphoma risk.right up arrow A Swedish cohort study published in February 2021 in the journal Rheumatology found that biologic DMARDs do not further increase lymphoma risk in RA patients. In fact, the drugs may actually reduce "excess lymphoma risk," the researchers note.right up arrow As is the case with many other RA comorbidities and complications, the increased lymphoma risk is likely the result of uncontrolled RA inflammation, the research suggests.