title: Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in southeastern Iran: a WHO-ILAR COPCORD study (stage 1, urban study).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and rheumatic diseases in southeast of Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were selected based on a cluster sampling from 20 districts of urban areas in Zahedan, Iran. Subjects 15 years old and over were randomly selected and interviewed by trained interviewers in their houses. The Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Disease (COPCORD) and Core Questionnaire (CCQ) were used in this study. The people with musculoskeletal complaints (pain, stiffness and swelling) were examined by the rheumatologist. Laboratory tests and radiographic exams were carried out when necessary to further categorize diagnoses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were collected from October 10, 2008 to September 15, 2009. Two thousand and one hundred subjects including 921 (43.9%) males and 1179 (56.1%) females were interviewed. The average age of the population was 33.1 ± 14.7 years. The prevalence of complaints within the past 7 days prior to the interview was 54.13%. The most common sites of complaint were as follows: knee (30.59%), dorsolumbar (28.83%), shoulder (22.26%) and neck (17.07%). The most common rheumatic diseases were osteoarthritis and low back pain with the prevalence of 18.66% and 17.71%, respectively. Finally, the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis was 0.98%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Musculoskeletal complaints are highly common in southeast Iran. Knee and low back pain were the most common sites of complaints. The most frequent diagnosed diseases were osteoarthritis of knee followed by low back pain and soft tissue rheumatism. Rheumatoid arthritis was the most prevalent inflammatory disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Ali Ebne Abitaleb Hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sandoughi
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zakeri
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tehrani Banihashemi
authors.forename: Fereydoun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Davatchi
authors.forename: Behzad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Narouie
authors.forename: Abdolsamad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shikhzadeh
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jahantigh
authors.forename: Mansoor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shakiba
authors.forename: Nezar Ali
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Moulaei
authors.forename: Shahaboddin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yousefi
authors.forename: Behzad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rezazehi
authors.forename: Eghbal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shirzaei Sani
authors.forename: Abolfazl
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Emamdadi
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoseynian
authors.forename: Sedighe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masoodian
authors.forename: Sogol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahbakhsh
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009790:Occupations; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015995:Prevalence; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Disease; epidemiology; musculoskeletal disorders; prevalence