arthritis in india

1.      Prevalence of arthritis in India - 

roughly 20% adults in India have some type of arthritis. thats 1 in 5 adults.

arthritis includes osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, SLE, Lupus, sero-negative arthritis and other miscellaneous types.

the prevalence is more or less the same in general compared to western countries but there are differences in presentation. differences as follows.

Indians mostly have bowed (varus) tibiae. This leads to predominantly a medial osteoarthritis causing exaggerated bowing. Such patients are commonly seen to be walking with a waddling gait with enormous bow legs. Its defined as a "varus thrust gait"

In spite of such bad deformities indians tend to have well preserved bending of their knees. In general Indians have very flexible knees compared to Caucasians.

primary Osteoarthritis of hips is virtually unheard of in native Indians. 

rheumatoid arthritis of poly articular variety is less common than in western countries.

also rheumatoid arthritis with juvenile onset and systemic involvement is less common.

certain rarer forms of arthritis like "ochranosis" is virtually non existant in India

but certain rarer forms like "sickle cell disease related arthritis" are more common

2.      Projections of prevalence in next ten years

the arthritis will be on rise in the coming decade because of multiple reasons.

mainly increasing life expectancy, increasing obesity and alcohol abuse.

sedentary habits in cities may see earlier onset of arthritis.

3.      What are the main diagnostic tools used for diagnosis in India

diagnostic tools are standard.

clinical examination and history taking is gold standard.

xrays, scans and lab tests are useful tools.