Prevalence of arthritis among a sample of medical students at Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Egypt; A Cross-Sectional study.

Background: Osteoarthritis is highly endemic disease in Egypt. In high income countries higher arthritis prevalence is associated with low social class, however in low to middle income countries less is known about arthritis prevalence or its predisposing factors. Objective: To measure the prevalence of arthritis among a sample of medical students at Ain Shams University and to identify its probable associated risk factors. Methods:A cross sectional study was carried out at Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University. A convenience sample of 340 students was selected. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Arthritis was assessed using 2 diagnostic methods:  1) doctor-/health care provider–diagnosed arthritis. 2) Four arthritis definitions based on the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision and WHO. Collected data were revised, coded, entered to a personal computer and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results:The total prevalence of arthritis among the studied students was 8.9% based on both doctor diagnosis and WHO algorithm (7.1% based on doctor diagnosis and 2.1% based on WHO algorithm).  Logistic regression analysis revealed that, residence in urban areas and female gender were the two independent risk factors associated with arthritis (p<0.05). Conclusion Findings suggest that further studied are needed across this age group, and proper interventions are needed to overcome the consequences of arthritis later in life.