Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To estimate prevalences of rheumatic diseases in Aboriginal Australians. METHODS: The methodology of the Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) was followed. Everyone aged 15 years or older in Yarrabah, North Queensland, was invited to complete a COPCORD Core Questionnaire. Aboriginal health workers carried out a house-to-house survey during January 2002. People reporting current musculoskeletal symptoms and 56 others (controls) were examined at the community health center. RESULTS: Eighty percent of the target population was covered during the survey. Eight hundred and forty-seven questionnaires were completed (47% men) and 135 people refused, a response of 86%. Rheumatic symptoms within the previous 7 days were reported by 33% and past symptoms by 22%. The most common sites of current pain were low back (12.5%), knee (11.2%), and shoulder (8.9%). Sixty-seven people (7.7%) said activities were limited by their symptoms. Two hundred and sixty-three people were examined, and the most common diagnoses were soft tissue pain (point prevalence 7.4%), osteoarthritis (5.5%), and low back pain (4.3%). The cumulative prevalence of gout was 7.0% in men and 0.9% in women over the age of 15 years. The relative risk of gout associated with drinking regularly was 2.5, and with body mass index > 25 was 3.3. No rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus cases were identified, but there were 4 cases of psoriatic arthritis (point prevalence 0.5%). CONCLUSION: This is the first unselected population study of rheumatic diseases in Australian Aboriginals. There was a high prevalence of gout among men, with modifiable factors of weight and alcohol identified.
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