Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis patients attending public rheumatology clinics, South Trinidad, 2016

Objective: To examine the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients (RA) attending public rheumatology clinics, South Trinidad, 2016. Design and Methodology: Design: Cross-Sectional; Interview-administered questionnaire. Settings: In 2016, the public rheumatology clinics, South Trinidad enrolled 385 adults with a confirmed diagnosis of RA. Main Outcome Measures: A score ≥ 6 on the ACR/ EULAR 2010 Classification Criteria for RA. Statistical Methods: Descriptive statistics to characterize the population in the domains of demographic and socio-economic factors. Results: 385 patients fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology / European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) 2010 classification criteria for RA. The median age of the population was 59.0 years. The male to female ratio was 1:10.3. 324 (84.2%) were East Indians and 134 (66.7%) achieved up to a secondary school education. Most patients were seen from the urban areas: Victoria North 122 (31.7%); Caroni South 83 (21.5%) and St. Patrick East 73 (19.0%). 192 (49.9%) were unemployed. 114 (29.6%) had to stop working due to RA. Of these, 41 (10.6%) received disability assistance grants. Conclusions: Epidemiological studies on RA in the Caribbean are sparse. In South Trinidad, RA seemed to affect predominantly unemployed East Indian women, who completed up to a secondary school level of education. The independent value of each prognostic factor needs to be further evaluated. The economic impact of the burden of disease and the impact on the patients' quality of life needs to be further explored as a high percentage of RA patients had to stop working due to the disease and receive disability grants.

The incidence of nine physical anomalies amongst neonates born in two hospitals in North Trinidad - abstract

This survey was conducted from August 13, 1990 to September 14, 1990 at the Mount Hope Women's Hospital and the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. A total of 613 well full-term neonates were examined within 24 hours of birth for physical anomalies including mongolian spots, cafe-au-lait spots, haemangiomas, supernumerary nipples, extra digits, clubfoot, single transverse palmar crease, cleft lip and cleft palate. Diagnosis of the various anomalies was made by systematic physical examination and literature references. Data were obtained from hospital records, interviewing the mother, and examination of the baby and were recorded in a standardized form. There were 299 males and 314 females (M:F = 1:1.04). Mongolian spots were the commonest anomaly (56.4 percent) followed by cafe-au-lait spots (9.3 percent) and haemanigomas (2.1 percent). There was a slightly greater incidence of anomalies among females, particularly haemangiomas (1:2.25) and extra digits (1:1.25). A ratio of 1.2:1 existed for accessory nipples. In the sample there were more Negro (45.5 percent) than East Indian (31.5 percent) babies. Interestingly, of the babies with haemangiomas, 39.5 percent were East Indian and 39.5 percent mixed (AU)