The landscape of reactive arthritis in Colombia (2017–2022): A national registry-based study

Abstract

Introduction/Objectives Registries allow for ascertaining the epidemiology of chronic diseases such as reactive arthritis (ReA). The Colombian Ministry of Health has implemented a National Health Registry (SISPRO, Sistema Integrado de Información de la Protección Social, by its in Spanish acronym) that collects data from each medical contact in the system, which provides close to universal coverage (around 98%). We aimed to estimate the 6-year prevalence of ReA in Colombia and to describe its demographics, using data from January 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2022.

Material and methods We performed an observational, cross-sectional study using the International Classification of Diseases terms associated with ReA based on RIPS (Registros Individuales de Prestación de Servicios de Salud) database on SISPRO and calculated the period prevalence per 100,000 inhabitants.

Results We found 19,081 patients with a primary diagnosis of ReA, with an estimated 6-year prevalence of 40 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (0.04%). We observed a higher prevalence in women (male-to- female ratio 0.5:1). We found the highest prevalence of cases in the 75–79 years group. Most cases were reported in Atlántico, Quindío, Bolivar, Sucre, and Magdalena. The absolute number of cases was higher in pre-COVID-19 pandemic years (2017: 3630, 2018: 3843, 2019: 4711) when contrasted with COVID-19 pandemic (2020: 2715, 2021: 3021) and post-COVID-19 pandemic (2022: 2451) years.

Conclusion This is the first study to describe the demographic characteristics of ReA in Colombia. The Caribbean region presents the highest prevalence and elderly patients were most commonly affected, possibly due to misclassification with similar conditions like inflammatory ostearthritis or pseudogout.