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Psoriatic Arthritis in Reykjavik, Iceland: Prevalence, Demographics, and Disease Course THORVARDUR JON LOVE, BJORN GUDBJORNSSON, JOHANN ELI GUDJONSSON, and HELGI VALDIMARSSON
ABSTRACT. Methods. In total 220 patients ≥ 18 years of age living in the Reykjavik area of Iceland were located in a community registry of psoriatic patients and in hospital records. Of these, 156 (71%) were interviewed and examined for verification of skin and joint disease according to published criteria. Results. Prevalence of PsA in the adult population was estimated to be 164 per 100,000 (95% CI 143–187), adjusted to 139 per 100,000 (95% CI 112–169) after exclusion of 25 individuals. The female to male ratio was close to 2:1. The mean age at skin disease onset was 23 years, with significantly earlier onset in women (age 20 yrs in women vs 26 yrs in men; p = 0.01), but there was no significant difference for age at the time of onset of joint disease. Mean duration of PsA was 20 years. Oligoarthritis was the most common (44%), followed by polyarthritis (31%), enthesitis (8%), and inflammatory back pain (7%). According to patients' recall of clinical features at onset, 78 patients (60%) had changed categories of PsA at the time of the study, most frequently from polyarthritis to oligoarthritis (48%), followed by oligoarthritis to polyarthritis (36%). These changes seemed independent of use of disease modifying drugs, which 54% had received. Conclusion. PsA in Reykjavik, Iceland, has a prevalence of at least 0.14% and is strikingly more common in women. The majority of patients reported a change in the pattern of affected joints during the course of their disease. (First Release August 1 2007; J Rheumatol 2007;34:2082-8) Key Indexing Terms:
PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS From the Department of Immunology and Centre for Rheumatology Research, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland. Supported by the Science Fund of Landspitali University Hospital and the Research Fund of the Icelandic College of Rheumatology. T.J. Love, MD, Resident, Department of Immunology; B. Gudbjornsson, PhD, Associate Professor, Centre for Rheumatology Research; H. Valdimarsson, PhD, Professor, Department of Immunology, Landspitali University Hospital; J.E. Gudjonsson, PhD, Resident, Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan. Address reprint requests to Prof. B. Gudbjornsson, Centre for Rheumatology Research, Landspitali University Hospital, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland. E-mail: bjorngu@landspitali.is Accepted for publication June 12, 2007. |
