The Prevalence and the Determinants of Musculoskeletal Diseases in Emiratis Attending Primary Health Care Clinics in Dubai

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in the Emiratis attending primary health care (PHC) clinics in Dubai. The secondary objective was to study the relationship between age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) and rheumatic diseases in the general population. Methods: The Prevalence of Rheumatic Diseases and Osteoporosis (PRO) in Dubai study was a cross-sectional study, which randomly enrolled Emiratis’ aged between 18–85 years old who attended one of 13 PHC clinics between 2 January 2009 and 31 December 2009. Demographic and health data for all participants was obtained via a questionnaire. Participants that indicated positive answers had their responses validated by a rheumatologist and underwent a thorough locomotor examination. Results: The study included 3,985 participants with a mean age of 42.1±15.8 years. The majority (77.4%) were female. Lower back pain was the most prevalent problem in our study population (32.9%). Knee osteoarthritis (OA) was the most common form of arthritis seen in our cohort (25.8%). Overall, the prevalence of inflammatory arthritis was 3.1%. Age and BMI were associated with increased risk of knee OA and lower back pain. Conclusions: Rheumatic diseases are quite common in Emirati patients attending PHC clinics. Lower back pain and knee OA were the most common musculoskeletal diseases seen in our cohort. There is a need for more population-based studies in the Middle East to have a better understanding of the epidemiology of rheumatic diseases in this region