Prevalence of Disability in Patients With Musculoskeletal Pain and Rheumatic Diseases in a Population From Cuenca, Ecuador.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of disability in patients with musculoskeletal pain and rheumatic diseases in Cuenca, Ecuador. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analytical study with randomized sampling in 4877 subjects, from urban and rural areas. COPCORD (Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Diseases)-validated questionnaire was administered house-to-house to identify subjects with nontraumatic musculoskeletal pain and rheumatic diseases. The subjects were assessed by rheumatologists for diagnostic accuracy, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index was administered to assess functional capacity. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association of rheumatic diseases with functional disability. RESULTS: Functional disability was found in 221 subjects (73.1% women), with mean age 62 (SD, 18.2) years, residing in rural areas (201 [66.5%]), with education of 6.9 (SD, 5.3) years, and of low income (77 [47.2%]). The value of HAQ-DI was a mean of 0.2 (0-2.9). The real prevalence of physical disability was 9.5%. Moderate and severe disability predominated in activities such as kneeling (4.9% and 3.3%), squatting (4.8% and 2.7%), and leaning to pick up objects (3.7% and 0.9%), respectively. Rheumatic diseases associated with physical disabilities were knee osteoarthritis (95 [31.4%]) and hand osteoarthritis (69 [22.8%]), mechanical low-back pain (43 [14.2%]), fibromyalgia (27 [9.5%]), and rheumatoid arthritis (11 [3.6%]; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Physical disability was associated with older age, female sex, rural residence, lower education, and lower income. Moderate and severe disability predominated in the dimensions of kneeling, squatting, and picking up objects. Rheumatic diseases associated with disability were hand and knee osteoarthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and rheumatic diseases in Cuenca, Ecuador: a WHO-ILAR COPCORD study.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and rheumatic diseases in subjects over 18 years of age from the canton of Cuenca, Ecuador. Cross-sectional analytical community-based study was conducted in subjects over 18 years of age using the validated Community-Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) questionnaire. Random sampling was used. The questionnaire was administered by standardized health workers. Subjects were visited house by house. Subjects positive for musculoskeletal (MSK) pain in the last 7 days and at some point in life were assessed by rheumatologists to confirm the diagnosis. A total of 4877 subjects participated, with an average age of 42.8 (SD 18.8) years of age; 59.7 % were women; 69.7 % lived in urban areas. 32.5 % reported MSK pain in the last 7 days and 45.7 % at some point in life. The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis was 7.4 %, hand osteoarthritis 5.3 %, low back pain 9.3 %, rheumatoid arthritis 0.8 %, fibromyalgia 2 %, gout 0.4 %, and lupus 0.06 %. Subjects from rural areas reported experiencing more MSK pain in the last 7 days and at some point in life, lower income, poorer health-care coverage, and increased physical activity involving repetitive tasks such as lifting weights or cooking with firewood. MSK pain prevalence was high. Osteoarthritis and low back pain were the most common diseases. Age, sex, physical activity, repetitive tasks, living in a rural area, and lack of health-care coverage were found to be associated with MSK pain.