Prevalence and spectrum of rheumatological diseases in a newly formed Peripheral Medical College in Northern India

Background: Rheumatic disorders are chronic inflammatory and non-inflammatory disorders of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue causing a significant socioeconomic burden resulting in immense morbidity owing to poor quality of life, loss of function and productivity. Methods: In this prospective study, consecutive patients attending Medicine Outpatient Department at GMC Doda, between august 2019 and July 2022, were studied for various rheumatological diseases. Rheumatological diagnoses of 3560 consecutive newly detected and returning patients were recorded for three year. Results: During the study period, a total of 27546 patients visited the Medicine OPD, 3560 of which were diagnosed with various rheumatic diseases, yielding a prevalence of 12.9%. The mean age of the patients in the study was 42.33±13.18 years ranging from a minimum age of 18 to a maximum age of 96 years. Females were notably predominant in all diseases at 64%. Non inflammatory rheumatological disorders osteoarthritis and soft tissue rheumatism were most predominant in this study. Conclusions: Osteoarthritis and soft tissue rheumatism were the most predominant rheumatic disorders in our study. Rheumatic diseases constitute a major disease burden in almost all of the age groups, especially in young patients (30-50 years) within our setup.