title: Demographic features of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in kosovo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory illness characterized by polyarthritis of small and large joints which in the course of time may progress to disability.
  
  
  METHODS
  In our prospective study were included 951 patients (females 730, and males 221 respectively) with an average age 51.3 year old, diagnosed with RA in accordance with ACR-EULAR/2010 criteria. The purpose of the paper is to investigate gender, age, group age by gender, level of education, residing place, nationality, religion, social condition, marital status, and vocation in our patients. Statistical processing has been carried out with program SPSS 20.0, SigmaStat 2.03, SigmaPlot 2000, MedCalc and Excel 2010. Most present group age was 40 - 49 year old with difference in distribution based on gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The largest number of them had completed secondary education, most of them originated from rural areas, were farmers by vocation and housewives. The database created by this survey can serve for building the RA patients' national registry. This registry can serve for further researches and planning the management of RA as a systemic rheumatic disease that has an immense social, economic and health impact. Largest portion of RA patients were farmers and housewives respectively (38% and 32.2% respectively). Vocations such as: retail sellers, workers in administration, education, factory, maintenance, and artisan workers had similar incidence in both genders that ranged from 9.7% to 6.2%, whereas these vocations among males ranged from 11.3% to 2.7%.
authors: Clinic for Rheumatology, University and Clinical Centre of Kosovo, Prishtina, Kosovo.
authors: Ismet H
authors: IH
authors: Bajraktari
authors: Clinic for Rheumatology, University Hospital Centre "Mother Teresa", Tirana, Albania.
authors: Backa-Çiço
authors: BÇ
authors: Teuta
authors: Medical School, Prishtina, Kosovo.
authors: Sahatçiu-Meka
authors: SM
authors: Vjollca
authors: Private internal medicine - rheumatology practice "Prorheuma", Prishtina, Kosovo.
authors: Halit
authors: H
authors: Bajraktari
authors: Clinic for Endocrinology, University and Clinical Centre of Kosovo, Prishtina, Kosovo.
authors: Valton
authors: V
authors: Saiti
authors: University of Medical Sciences "Rezonanca", Prishtina, Kosovo.
authors: Blerim
authors: B
authors: Krasniqi
authors: Regional Hospital "Dr. Daut Mustafa", Prizren, Kosovo.
authors: Fikret
authors: F
authors: Muslimi
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D063826:Kosovo; D008297:Male; D059408:Pain Management; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents
keywords: demographic features; group age; national registry; rheumatoid arthritis
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