The objective of this study was to investigate clinical and radiographic features and
gender differences in Korean
patients with
adult-onset
ankylosing spondylitis. Multicenter
cross-sectional studies were conducted in the
rheumatology clinics of 13 Korean
tertiary referral hospitals. All
patients had a confirmed
diagnosis of
ankylosing spondylitis according to the modified
New York criteria. Clinical,
laboratory, and radiographic features were evaluated and
disease activities were assessed using the
Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index. Five hundred and five
patients were recruited. The
male to
female ratio was 6.11. Average age at symptom onset was 25.4+/-8.9 yr and average
disease duration was 9.6+/-6.8 yr.
Males manifested symptoms at a significantly earlier age.
HLA-B27 was more frequently positive in
males.
Hips were more commonly affected in
males, and knees in
females. When spinal mobility was measured using tragus-to-wall distance and the modified Schober's test,
females had significantly better results. Radiographic spinal changes, including bamboo
spine and syndesmophytes, were more common in
males after
adjustment of confounding factors. In conclusion, we observed significant
gender differences in radiographic spinal involvement as well as other clinical manifestations among
Korea patients with
adult-onset
ankylosing spondylitis. These findings may influence the timing of the
diagnosis and the choice of
treatment.