Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the adult Indian population

Abstract

The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis was studied in the adult Indian population. As the first step, a house-to-house survey of a rural population near Delhi was conducted by two trained health workers. The target population comprised 44,551 adults (over 16 years old). The health workers identified the possible cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a questionnaire. These cases were then further evaluated by the authors using the 1987 revised ARA criteria for the diagnosis of RA. A response rate of 89.5% was obtained and 3393 persons were listed as possible cases of RA by the health workers. Of these, 299 satisfied the revised ARA criteria for the diagnosis of RA, giving a prevalence of 0.75%. Projected to the whole population, this would give a total of about seven million patients in India. The prevalence of RA in India is quite similar to that reported from the developed countries. It is higher than that reported from China, Indonesia, Philippines and rural Africa. These findings are in keeping with the fact that the north Indian population is genetically closer to the Caucasians than to other ethnic groups.

Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients taking combination DMARDs

“…In the present study, an attempt has been made to assess the quality of life in both the old and new RA patients taking combination non-biologic DMARDs therapy. The gender wise distribution of Rheumatoid Arthritis in the present study is 87% female which is approximately same with the Indian scenario (84.5%, 88.6%) [26,27] as well as with the global data (86%, 80%). [21,28] The mean age of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients in the present study is 45.85 ± 9.54 years with the mean (± SD) age of onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis in patients is 41.48 ± 9.38 years.…”

“…[21,28] The mean age of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients in the present study is 45.85 ± 9.54 years with the mean (± SD) age of onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis in patients is 41.48 ± 9.38 years. This finding is in accordance with the Indian scenario of mean age of RA 43±4, 47.2 years [26,29] and mean age of onset of RA 43±4 years and 40.57±13.69 years [29,30] The incidence of RA increases between 25 and 55 years of age, after which it plateaus until the age of 75 and then decreases ] which is approximately same with the Indian scenario. [31] .…”

“…[29] The family history of Rheumatoid Arthritis in patients, in this study is noted to be 17% which is not in concordance with the Indian studies, which state 28.9% family history positive. [26] This may be influenced by small and limited sample size of this study. On the other hand the, global data shows approximately 10% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis will have an affected first degree relative.…”

Prescribing pattern in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital

“…About 0.75% of the adult Indian population is affected by the disease and the incidence increases between 25 and 55 years of age, after which it plateaus until the age of 75 and then decreases. 5,6 Females are more prone to RA 2-3.5 times more often than men, and this difference is due to hormonal differences, because by approaching the sixth decade of life, the hormonal differences among genders are minimal, or even are equal with men's hormones. 7,8 Current rheumatoid arthritis management emphasis of the benefits of early Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs).…”

Characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis patients at first presentation to a specialized rheumatology department

“…If projected to the population of the country this would give a figure of about 7 million Indian adults suffering from RA in 1993. 7,8 Thus, there is a large discrepancy between availability of rheumatologists and the actual numbers in India. In addition, most patients are unaware of this speciality adding to their difficulty.…”