RESUMO
Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in the Emiratis attending primary health care [PHC] clinics in Dubai. The secondary objective was to study the relationship between age, gender, and body mass index [BMI] and rheumatic diseases in the general population
Methods: The Prevalence of Rheumatic Diseases and Osteoporosis [PRO] in Dubai study was a cross-sectional study, which randomly enrolled Emiratis' aged between 18-85 years old who attended one of 13 PHC clinics between 2 January 2009 and 31 December 2009. Demographic and health data for all participants was obtained via a questionnaire. Participants that indicated positive answers had their responses validated by a rheumatologist and underwent a thorough locomotor examination
Results: The study included 3,985 participants with a mean age of 42.1 +/- 15.8 years. The majority [77.4%] were female. Lower back pain was the most prevalent problem in our study population [32.9%]. Knee osteoarthritis [OA] was the most common form of arthritis seen in our cohort [25.8%]. Overall, the prevalence of inflammatory arthritis was 3.1%. Age and BMI were associated with increased risk of knee OA and lower back pain
Conclusions: Rheumatic diseases are quite common in Emirati patients attending PHC clinics. Lower back pain and knee OA were the most common musculoskeletal diseases seen in our cohort. There is a need for more populationbased studies in the Middle East to have a better understanding of the epidemiology of rheumatic diseases in this region