Articular hypermobility simulating chronic rheumatic disease.

A retrospective survey of 54 children with symptoms associated with articular hypermobility showed only occasional recognition of the syndrome before referral; some patients had been treated for inflammatory arthritis. Of the patients, 78% were girls; their mean age at onset of symptoms (11 years) was 3 years older than the mean age of the boys. Hypermobility was localised rather than generalised in most patients, and this may be an important reason for the apparent under recognition of the syndrome.