Epidemiology of systemic sclerosis in northwest Greece 1981 to 2002
Section snippets
Materials and methods
The study area represents a population of 488,435 inhabitants according to the National Census of 2001. It is a defined area of northwest Greece including 6 districts, 4 on the mainland and 2 on islands. Urban residents represented 37% of the total population, living in the capitals of the districts. Two rheumatology clinics are implemented in the area, both in Ioannina, the largest city of the study area, with a Medical School and a University Hospital. Eight private rheumatologists are
Results
The main characteristics of SSc patients diagnosed during the period 1981 to 2002 in northwest Greece are presented in Table 1. A total of 109 cases were diagnosed among the population of the area studied. Among them, 104 were recorded at the Rheumatology Clinics and 5 from private rheumatologists. There was a ninefold higher number of women than men, and women had a lower mean age at diagnosis.
Figure 1 shows the incidence of the disease during the study period, by sex and groups of age. The
Discussion
Epidemiological studies performed in several countries suggest significant geographic variations in the occurrence of SSc. According to the results of the present study, SSc incidence and prevalence rates in the area studied are between those of the United States and Australia, and those of Northern European countries and Japan (Table 3) (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). However, the methods used to ascertain cases differ among studies. In the study by Steen and coworkers, cases were
Acknowledgment
This paper is dedicated to Professor H.M. Moutsopoulos for his 60th birthday celebration.
References (32)
- et al.
Ultraviolet radiation and autoimmune diseaseinsights from epidemiological research
Toxicology
(2002) - et al.
Epidemiology of systemic sclerosis
Curr Opin Rheumatol
(1996) Epidemiology of systemic sclerosis and related diseases
Curr Opin Rheumatol
(1997)Epidemiology of scleroderma
Curr Opin Rheumatol
(1991)- et al.
Epidemiology of adult rheumatoid arthritis in northwest Greece 1987–1995
J Rheumatol
(1997) - et al.
The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the general population of Spain
Rheumatology
(2002) - et al.
Epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus in a defined area of northwest Greece, 1982–2001
J Rheumatol
(2003) - et al.
Epidemiology of psoriatic arthritis in northwest Greece 1982–2001
J Rheumatol
(2003) - et al.
Assessment of gastrointestinal involvement
Clin Exp Rheumatol
(2003) - et al.
Assessment of lung involvement
Clin Exp Rheumatol
(2003)