title: Prevalence of joint hypermobility in Kuwait.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.|Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Al-Jarallah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.|Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Diaa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shehab
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Munirah T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Al-Jaser
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Khaled M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Al-Azemi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Fatma F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Wais
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Ahmed M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Al-Saleh
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Abdulhadi S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Al-Ajmi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Hamad A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Al-Omairah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.|Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Mini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Prem N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007596:Joints / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015995:Prevalence; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Asia; Kuwait; arthralgia; hypermobility