Is there a urban-rural divide in the occurrence of rheumatic musculo-skeletal disorders? The difference was striking when a population survey conducted by the city-based Centre for Rheumatic Diseases (CRD) showed that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was unusually high in the rural area of Bhigwan - 100 kms from Pune, as compared to the city itself. The prevalence of clinical RA in rural Bhigwan (0.67 per cent) remained twice that of urban Pune (0.3 per cent).

"We were surprised to find a much lower prevalence of self-reported pain sites and rheumatic disorders in the Pune urban community as compared to the neighboring Bhigwan rural community, suggesting an urban-rural divide," Dr Arvind Chopra, rheumatologist and director , CRD told Newsline. The survey has been published in the Journal of Rheumatology. In fact as part of the activity week from October 12-22 held all over the world to focus on arthritis, osteoporosis, spine disorders and injuries, the Bone and Joint Decade (India) will distribute specially designed and embossed BJD crash helmets free of cost in special rallies arranged along with traffic police and educational institutions in various cities.Young people riding two wheelers without head gear will be the target recipients of these rallies.

Meanwhile, almost 30,000 people belonging to the Narayan Peth area of Pune and neighbouring villages of Bhigwan and Ralegaon Siddhi have been evaluated in detail for bone and joint disorders by Dr Chopra and his colleagues from the CRD, under the auspices of BJD India. "We have recently reported the incidence of RA in Bhigwan and continue to diagnose 2-3 new cases every year. Therefore, we feel compelled to compare the community data from the urban and rural surveys in this report. The aim was to estimate urban prevalence of rheumatic musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders and compare it to an earlier rural regional study. A total of 8,145 adults were screened from an urban locality, Narayan Peth, for pain due to the muscular-skeletal disorders. The cross-sectional house-to-house survey was conducted over 20 weeks," says Chopra.

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