Ankylosing Spondylitis.
Last updated Friday, February 11, 2005
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Incidence and risk factorsIncidence Symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis appear most frequently in young
men between the ages of 16 and 35. It is less common in women, whose
symptoms are often milder and more difficult to diagnose.
About five percent of ankylosing spondylitis begins in childhood;
boys are more likely to have it than girls. When children develop
ankylosing spondylitis, it usually begins in the hips, knees, bottoms
of heels, or big toes and may later progress to involve the spine.
The gene is present in eight percent of healthy white Americans and
two to three percent of healthy African Americans. About 300,000
Americans (less than one percent of the adult population) have
ankylosing spondylitis. The disease is three times more common in
whites than in African Americans. Acquisition Heredity seems to play a role in determining who gets ankylosing
spondylitis.: approximately one in five people affected by ankylosing
spondylitis have a relative with the same disorder. A genetic "marker"
called HLA-B27 is present in most people who have AS. However, most
people (about 80%) who test positive for the marker never develop the
disease. What "triggers" the disease in those patients who may be
susceptible to it (i.e. patients who test positive for HLA-B27) is not
well understood.
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