Samantha Hider s.hider@keele.ac.uk
Symptoms associated with inflammatory arthritis are common in the primary care population: results from the Joint Symptoms Survey
Hider, Samantha L; Muller, Sara; Helliwell, Toby; Prior, James A; Scott, Ian; Lawton, Sarah A; Zwierska, Irena; van Schaardenburg, Dirkjan; van der Helm-van Mil, Annette; Raza, Karim; Mallen, Christian D
Authors
Sara Muller s.muller@keele.ac.uk
Toby Helliwell t.helliwell@keele.ac.uk
Dr James Prior j.a.prior@keele.ac.uk
Ian Scott i.scott@keele.ac.uk
Sarah Lawton s.a.lawton@keele.ac.uk
Irena Zwierska
Dirkjan van Schaardenburg
Annette van der Helm-van Mil
Karim Raza
Christian Mallen c.d.mallen@keele.ac.uk
Abstract
Objectives: To describe the prevalence of self-reported inflammatory joint symptoms, such as joint pain, stiffness and swelling in UK primary care patients consulting for both musculoskeletal (MSK) and non-musculoskeletal (non-MSK) complaints.
Methods: A Joint Symptoms questionnaire survey was sent to 10,161 individuals, of whom 5,050 had consulted for MSK problems. These were matched by age, gender and general practice to non-MSK consulters. Participants provided data on relevant symptoms such as joint pain, stiffness and swelling. The prevalence of these symptoms, their severity and impact was compared between MSK and non-MSK consulters.
Results: 4,549 adults responded to the survey (adjusted response 45.8%) of whom 52.3% consulted for a musculoskeletal problem. The mean (SD) age was 61.6 (14.8) years and 58.9% were female. Persistent (on at least half of the days in the last month) inflammatory symptoms were common even in non-MSK consulters, with 42% reporting joint pain, 36% reporting joint stiffness and 18% reporting joint swelling. This is in comparison to 62% reporting joint pain, 50% stiffness and 24% swelling amongst MSK consulters.
Conclusions: Although symptoms such as persistent joint pain, swelling, and stiffness are predictive of inflammatory arthritis, large numbers of people consulting primary care for non-musculoskeletal reasons report these symptoms when asked by questionnaire. This compounds the challenges of diagnosing inflammatory arthritis in a non-specialist setting where new approaches are needed to ensure accurate, early diagnosis, facilitating a treat-to-target approach.
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Apr 8, 2019 |
Online Publication Date | May 11, 2019 |
Publication Date | Nov 1, 2019 |
Publicly Available Date | May 26, 2023 |
Journal | Rheumatology |
Print ISSN | 1462-0324 |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 58 |
Issue | 11 |
Pages | 2009-2014 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez184 |
Keywords | inflammatory arthritis, joint pain, joint swelling, primary care |
Publisher URL | https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez184 |
PMID | 31079150 |
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
18-1994_AcceptedVersion (1).docx
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Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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