Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and rheumatic diseases in the southeastern region of Mexico. A COPCORD-based community survey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and rheumatic diseases in the southeastern Mexican state of Yucatán.
METHODS: Using the Community Oriented Program in the Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) methodology, we performed a door-to-door, cross-sectional study generated through a multistage, stratified, randomized method on 3915 adult residents (age 42.7 ± 17.1 yrs; women 61.8%; urban setting 45.7%) of the Mexican state of Yucatán. We used universally accepted criteria for the diagnosis or classification of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA; knee and hand), fibromyalgia, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), gout, ankylosing spondylitis, regional rheumatic pain syndromes, and inflammatory back pain.
RESULTS: Nontraumatic MSK pain in the last 7 days was present in 766 (19.6%; 95% CI 18.3-20.8) individuals. MSK pain was more prevalent in women (26.6%) versus men (12.2%; p < 0.01). Self-reported MSK disability occurred in 1.7%. Most MSK pain-related variables were consistently more prevalent in the urban setting. The prevalence of rheumatic disease was: OA 6.8% (95% CI 6.0-7.6); back pain 3.8% (95% CI 3.2-4.4); RA 2.8% (95% CI 2.2-3.3); rheumatic regional pain syndromes 2.3% (95% CI 1.9-2.8); inflammatory back pain 0.7% (95% CI 0.5-1.0); fibromyalgia 0.2% (95% CI 0.1-0.4); gout 0.1% (95% CI 0.07-0.3); and SLE 0.07% (95% CI 0.01-0.2).
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MSK pain was 19.6%. MSK pain was more prevalent in women and in the urban setting. A remarkably high prevalence of RA was found in this population, which suggests a role for geographic factors.