Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Edmonton and Northern Alberta
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Edmonton and Northern Alberta Jason Soo 1 & David Eldeiry 2 & Steven Katz 3 Received: 6 July 2020 / Revised: 9 August 2020 / Accepted: 17 August 2020 # International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) 2020
Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Northern Alberta estimated by health administrative data and data from a rheumatologist-based prescription database. Methods The study was performed using administrative health data from the province of Alberta through the local health authority. The cases and population identified in the database were reported from the year 2016. Rheumatology prescribing data was accessed through the Physician Learning Program and based on Alberta health billing data of actively practicing rheumatologists between the years 2012 and 2016. Ethics was provided by the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Boards at the University of Calgary (REB 13-0459). Results The total population of the area examined was determined to be 2,086,181. The administrative health database identified 42,354 cases of RA based on their case definition with a prevalence of 2.08%. Based on rheumatologist diagnosis and prescribing data, the number of cases identified was 11,273 cases of RA with a prevalence of 0.542%. The average percentage of identified RA patients being seen by a rheumatologist was determined to be 26.7% with the range of 19.8 to 39.9%. Conclusion In conclusion, this study compares and contrasts the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis reported by administrative data versus identification by specialists. Our study again illustrates that accuracy of case definitions when studying chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis is paramount. The results also suggest a lack of access to rheumatologist services in Northern Alberta and reiterate the need for ongoing recruitment of new rheumatologists as has been highlighted previously. Key Points • The main contribution of this paper is to compare and contrast the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis as reported by administrative data versus identification by specialists. • Our study also shows the distribution of rheumatoid arthritis in a large geographical area and illustrates a lack of access to subspecialty care in certain regions.
Keywords Health database . Prescription . Prevalence . Rheumatoid arthritis
Introduction
* Jason Soo [email protected] 1
Department of Rheumatology, University of Alberta, 430-11044 82nd Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T6G0T2, Canada
2
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin D02 YN77, Ireland
3
Department of Rheumatology, University of Alberta, 13-103 Clinical Sciences Building, 11350-83 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G3, Canada
Prior epidemiologic studies from the developed world have reported the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to be 0.5– 1.0% of the general population. Canadian studies have reported prevalence within this same range, although variabi
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