title: WHO-ILAR COPCORD Study (Stage 1, Urban Study) in Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To find the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and rheumatic disorders in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tehran, with one-ninth of the population of Iran and of mixed ethnic origins, was selected as the field. Subjects were randomly selected from the 22 districts. Interviews were conducted once a week, on the weekend. The 3 phases of stage 1 were done on the same day, in parallel, like the fast-track Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four thousand ninety-six houses were visited and 10,291 persons were interviewed. Musculoskeletal complaints during the past 7 days were detected in 41.9% of the interviewed subjects. The distribution was: shoulder 14.5%, wrist 10%, hands and fingers 9.4%, hip 7.1%, knee 25.5%, ankle 9.8%, toes 6.1%, cervical spine 13.4%, and dorsal and lumbar spine 21.7%. Degenerative joint diseases were detected in 16.6% of subjects: cervical spondylosis 1.8%, knee osteoarthritis (OA) 15.3%, hand OA 2.9%, and hip OA 0.32%. Low back pain was detected in 15.4% and soft tissue rheumatism in 4.6%. Inflammatory disorders were rheumatoid arthritis 0.33%, seronegative spondyloarthropathies 0.23%, ankylosing spondylitis 0.12%, systemic lupus erythematosus 0.04%, and Behçet's disease 0.08%. Fibromyalgia was detected in 0.69% and gout in 0.13% of the studied population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The large urban COPCORD study in Iran showed a high prevalence of rheumatic complaints in the population over the age of 15 years, 41.9%. Knee OA and low back pain were the most frequent complaints.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Medical Sciences/University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. fddh@davatchi.net
authors.forename: Fereydoun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Davatchi
authors.forename: Ahmad-Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Jamshidi
authors.forename: Arash Tehrani
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Banihashemi
authors.forename: Jaleh
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authors.lastname: Gholami
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Forouzanfar
authors.forename: Massoomeh
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authors.lastname: Akhlaghi
authors.forename: Mojgan
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authors.lastname: Barghamdi
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Noorolahzadeh
authors.forename: Ali-Reza
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authors.lastname: Khabazi
authors.forename: Mansoor
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authors.lastname: Salesi
authors.forename: Amir-Hossein
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Salari
authors.forename: Mansoor
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authors.lastname: Karimifar
authors.forename: Kamal
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authors.lastname: Essalat-Manesh
authors.forename: Mehrzad
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authors.lastname: Hajialiloo
authors.forename: Mohsen
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authors.lastname: Soroosh
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Farzad
authors.forename: Hamid-Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Moussavi
authors.forename: Farideh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Samadi
authors.forename: Koorosh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ghaznavi
authors.forename: Homa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asgharifard
authors.forename: Amir-Hossein
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zangiabadi
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shahram
authors.forename: Abdolhadi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nadji
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akbarian
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gharibdoost
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population