To obtain further information on the possible association of bacteriuria and RFs on the population level, an epidemiological study was carried out among middle-aged women in a rural area. Fifty-five of ther 1223 women aged 40-64 years had bacteriuria and 31 were under treatment for urinary tract infection. The latex test was twice as often positive among the bacteriuria women as among the persons under treatment and the age-matched controls. The association was noted in the same way in persons with symptoms and signs suggestive of RA and in those with no evidence of this disease.