Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese army force

    WU Zhenª²Biao£¬ WANG Hongª²Kun£¬ ZHENG Zhaoª²Hui£¬ LU Ning, JIA Junª²Feng£¬ JIA Yun£¬ LENG Nan£¬ ZHANG Huiª²Qin, ZHU Ping

    Department of Clinical Immunology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi¡¯an 710033, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To investigate the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Chinese army forces in different areas and its epidemiological characteristics. METHODS: A fourª²phase survey was conducted in 21 750 Chinese military servicemen, including faceª²toª²face interviews with standardized COPCORD questionnaires (Phase¢ñ screening); examination of the suspected cases and case screen of inflammatory joints (phase¢ò); identification of RA cases by more than two experienced doctors specializing in rheumatology, and examination with X rays and laboratory detection of rheumatoid factors, antiª²antikeratin antibody, antiª²cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody, and data analysis (phase¢ó); data analysis by all members of the research committee (phase¢ô). RESULTS: Among the 21 750 people surveyed, 21 cases of RA were identified, with the prevalence of 0.97¡ë. The prevalence of RA was higher in the navy than that in the army and the air force but no significant difference was found among different areas. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of RA in Chinese armed forces is significantly lower than that in the civilians. The prevalence of RA in the navy is higher than that in the army and the air force. ......