Abstract
Objective To evaluate the relative prevalence of 8 rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) across racial/ethnic groups within the Patient-Centered Research Network (PCORnet).
Methods Electronic health records from participating PCORnet institutions and systems from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2018 were used to identify adult patients with ≥2 diagnosis codes for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), osteoporosis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), giant cell arteritis (GCA), and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK). Among those with race/ethnicity data available, we compared prevalence of RMDs by race/ethnicity.
Results Data from 28,059,546 patients were available for analysis. RA was more common in patients who were American Indian/Alaska Native vs. White with prevalence 11.6 versus 10.1 per 1000, odds ratio (OR) 1.15 (95% CI 1.09-1.22). SLE was more common in patients who were African American (6.7/1000), American Indian/Alaska Native (3.8/1000), and Asian (3.4/1000) vs. White, prevalence 2.8/1000 [OR 2.43 (95% CI 2.39-2.46), 1.39 (1.25-1.53), 1.26 (1.21-1.31) respectively]. SLE was more common in patients who were Hispanic vs. Not Hispanic, prevalence 3.9 vs. 3.5/1000, OR 1.14 (95% CI 1.12-1.16). Takayasu's arteritis was more common in patients who were Asian vs. White, prevalence 0.05 vs. 0.04/1000, OR 1.43 (95% CI 1.00-2.03). Osteoporosis, RA, and the vasculitides were all more common in patients who were White vs. African American.
Conclusion These data provide important information on prevalence of RMDs by race/ethnicity in the US. PCORnet can be a reliable data source to study RMDs within a large representative population.
