TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of joint hypermobility in Kuwait
AU - Al-Jarallah, Khaled
AU - Shehab, Diaa
AU - Al-Jaser, Munirah T.
AU - Al-Azemi, Khaled M.
AU - Wais, Fatma F.
AU - Al-Saleh, Ahmed M.
AU - Al-Ajmi, Abdulhadi S.
AU - Al-Omairah, Hamad A.
AU - Abraham, Mini
AU - Sharma, Prem
PY - 2017/8/1
Y1 - 2017/8/1
N2 - Aim: To determine the prevalence of joint hypermobility (JH) among young Kuwaiti adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 390 randomly selected healthy undergraduate university students, aged 18–29 years from the Health Sciences Centre, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait. Beighton score at four peripheral sites bilaterally (knees, elbows, thumbs and fifth fingers) and forward flexion of the trunk were used to evaluate joint hypermobility. Any student who met four out of the nine criteria was considered hypermobile. Joint pain was documented in all subjects through personal interview. Results: A total of 390 subjects (male : female ratio 1.0 : 0.9) were assessed. Of those, 87 (22.3%) were found to have JH: 60 (29.4%) males and 27 (14.5%) females, showing a significantly higher male predominance (P < 0.001). Beighton score was inversely correlated with age (ρ = −0.15, P = 0.003). A higher incidence of finger signs was noted in comparison to elbow-knee hyperextension and hands-to-floor. Knee joint, back, neck and shoulder pains, in descending order, were the commonest type of joint complaints, although not statistically significant (P > 0.05) in subjects with and without joint hypermobility. It was also observed that the left side, at all the sites, was slightly more hypermobile in comparison to the right side in hypermobile subjects. Conclusions: The prevalence of joint hypermobility is not uncommon among young Kuwaiti adults, and was comparable to the data published in other Asian-Pacific regions. General practitioners should therefore be familiar with the condition and its clinical associations, while assessing musculoskeletal complaints.
AB - Aim: To determine the prevalence of joint hypermobility (JH) among young Kuwaiti adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 390 randomly selected healthy undergraduate university students, aged 18–29 years from the Health Sciences Centre, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait. Beighton score at four peripheral sites bilaterally (knees, elbows, thumbs and fifth fingers) and forward flexion of the trunk were used to evaluate joint hypermobility. Any student who met four out of the nine criteria was considered hypermobile. Joint pain was documented in all subjects through personal interview. Results: A total of 390 subjects (male : female ratio 1.0 : 0.9) were assessed. Of those, 87 (22.3%) were found to have JH: 60 (29.4%) males and 27 (14.5%) females, showing a significantly higher male predominance (P < 0.001). Beighton score was inversely correlated with age (ρ = −0.15, P = 0.003). A higher incidence of finger signs was noted in comparison to elbow-knee hyperextension and hands-to-floor. Knee joint, back, neck and shoulder pains, in descending order, were the commonest type of joint complaints, although not statistically significant (P > 0.05) in subjects with and without joint hypermobility. It was also observed that the left side, at all the sites, was slightly more hypermobile in comparison to the right side in hypermobile subjects. Conclusions: The prevalence of joint hypermobility is not uncommon among young Kuwaiti adults, and was comparable to the data published in other Asian-Pacific regions. General practitioners should therefore be familiar with the condition and its clinical associations, while assessing musculoskeletal complaints.
KW - arthralgia
KW - Asia
KW - hypermobility
KW - Kuwait
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028559123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1756-185X.12556
DO - 10.1111/1756-185X.12556
M3 - Article
C2 - 25529052
AN - SCOPUS:85028559123
VL - 20
SP - 935
EP - 940
JO - International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases
JF - International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases
SN - 1756-1841
IS - 8
ER -