Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in population with arthralgia presenting to a tertiary care hospital

Objective: to evaluate patients presenting to healthcare facilities because of joint pain and subsequently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. method: the prospective study was conducted from august 1,2013,to january 20,2014,at jinnah postgraduate medical centre,karachi,and comprised patients presenting with joint pain. a questionnaire was used to collect data,and patients were diagnosed using american college of rheumatology / european league against rheumatism rheumatoid arthritis classification criteria. data was analyzed using spss 20. result: of the 320 patients approached,316(98.7%) filled the questionnaire. eighty five (26.9%) were diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. sixty (70.5%) were females and 25 (26.3%) were males. the frequency of rheumatoid arthritis was higher in people in 4th,5th and 6th decades of life. twenty five (7.9%) patients had positive family history,77 (90.2%) were chronic sufferers and only 53 (16%) agreed to follow recommended immunosuppressive therapies. 212 (67.1%) patients belonged to highly literate class. conclusion: proper guidance regarding the disease was found to be lacking in the urban centre. © 2015,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.