Generalised musculoskeletal pain syndromes
The study of the descriptive epidemiology of chronic widespread pain (CWP) in several countries is of interest, as the occurrence of this condition varies among different populations. However, reports of…
Epidemiology of gout: An update
Gout is the most common inflammatory joint disease in men, characterised by formation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the synovial fluid of joints and in other tissues. The epidemiology…
Osteoporosis and fragility fractures
The prevalence of osteoporosis is expected to increase with the ageing of the world’s population. This article reviews the epidemiology, risk factors and health burden of osteoporosis. In the Global…
The epidemiology of neck pain
Neck pain is becoming increasingly common throughout the world. It has a considerable impact on individuals and their families, communities, health-care systems, and businesses. There is substantial heterogeneity between neck…
The Epidemiology of low back pain
Low back pain is an extremely common problem that most people experience at some point in their life. While substantial heterogeneity exists among low back pain epidemiological studies limiting the…
Osteoarthritis
Internationally, prevalence estimates for osteoarthritis show wide variability depending on the age and sex of the studied population, the method of case identification used, and the specificity of joint sites…
Seronegative spondyloarthritis
Seronegative spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of inflammatory rheumatic diseases with common clinical and aetiological features, including axial and peripheral inflammatory arthritis, enthesitis, extra-articular manifestations and a close link to…
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex disease that affects approximately 0.5% of the adult population worldwide, and occurs in 20–50 cases per 100 000 annually, mainly in women after their…
How to measure the impact of musculoskeletal conditions
Musculoskeletal conditions are universally prevalent among all age and gender groups, across all socio-demographic strata of society. Their impact is pervasive yet this is not widely recognised at the level…
The global burden of musculoskeletal conditions – Why is it important?
Musculoskeletal conditions have an enormous and growing impact worldwide, yet they are not considered a priority by the World Health Organization (WHO) in their global strategy for chronic diseases, and…
