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Rheumatic Disease in an Australian Aboriginal Community in North Queensland, Australia.
A WHO-ILAR COPCORD Survey
NICOLA MINAUR, STEVEN SAWYERS, JONATHAN PARKER, and JOHN DARMAWAN
ABSTRACT. Methods. The methodology of the Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) was followed. Everyone aged 15 years or older in Yarrabah, North Queensland, was invited to complete a COPCORD Core Questionnaire. Aboriginal health workers carried out a house-to-house survey during January 2002. People reporting current musculoskeletal symptoms and 56 others (controls) were examined at the community health center. Results. Eighty percent of the target population was covered during the survey. Eight hundred and forty-seven questionnaires were completed (47% men) and 135 people refused, a response of 86%. Rheumatic symptoms within the previous 7 days were reported by 33% and past symptoms by 22%. The most common sites of current pain were low back (12.5%), knee (11.2%), and shoulder (8.9%). Sixty-seven people (7.7%) said activities were limited by their symptoms. Two hundred and sixty-three people were examined, and the most common diagnoses were soft tissue pain (point prevalence 7.4%), osteoarthritis (5.5%), and low back pain (4.3%). The cumulative prevalence of gout was 7.0% in men and 0.9% in women over the age of 15 years. The relative risk of gout associated with drinking regularly was 2.5, and with body mass index > 25 was 3.3. No rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus cases were identified, but there were 4 cases of psoriatic arthritis (point prevalence 0.5%). Conclusion. This is the first unselected population study of rheumatic diseases in Australian Aboriginals. There was a high prevalence of gout among men, with modifiable factors of weight and alcohol identified. (J Rheumatol 2004;31:965-72) Key Indexing Terms:
PREVALENCE
From James Cook University School of Medicine, Cairns Base Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia; the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Rotorua, New Zealand; and the WHO Collaborating Center, Community-based Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases, Seroja Rheumatic Center, Semarang, Indonesia. Funded by the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and the WHO Collaborating Center, Community-based Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases, Seroja Rheumatic Center, Semarang, Indonesia. N. Minaur, Senior Research Fellow, MD, PhD, James Cook University School of Medicine; S. Sawyers, Locum Consultant, MD, FRACP Queen Elizabeth Hospital; J. Parker, PhD, Research Assistant, James Cook University School of Medicine; J. Darmawan, MD, PhD, WHO Collaborating Center Community-based Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases. Address reprint requests to Dr. N. Minaur, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Upper Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1RL, United Kingdom. E-mail: nicolaminaur@yahoo.co.uk Submitted July 2, 2003; revision accepted November 4, 2003. |