WHO-ILAR COPCORD Study (Stage 1, Urban Study) in Iran.
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.
Davatchi
Fereydoun
F
Rheumatology Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Medical Sciences/University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. fddh@davatchi.net
Jamshidi
Ahmad-Reza
AR
Banihashemi
Arash Tehrani
AT
Gholami
Jaleh
J
Forouzanfar
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Akhlaghi
Massoomeh
M
Barghamdi
Mojgan
M
Noorolahzadeh
Elham
E
Khabazi
Ali-Reza
AR
Salesi
Mansoor
M
Salari
Amir-Hossein
AH
Karimifar
Mansoor
M
Essalat-Manesh
Kamal
K
Hajialiloo
Mehrzad
M
Soroosh
Mohsen
M
Farzad
Farhad
F
Moussavi
Hamid-Reza
HR
Samadi
Farideh
F
Ghaznavi
Koorosh
K
Asgharifard
Homa
H
Zangiabadi
Amir-Hossein
AH
Shahram
Farhad
F
Nadji
Abdolhadi
A
Akbarian
Mahmood
M
Gharibdoost
Farhad
F
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