Rheumatic diseases in migrant patients resident in Tuscany: epidemiological data analysis and single-center experience

Submitted: 14 January 2023
Accepted: 30 November 2023
Published: 22 March 2024
Abstract Views: 597
PDF: 347
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Objective. In the last decades, the number of foreigners in Tuscany has considerably increased with a multiethnic distribution. We reviewed the main rheumatic diseases in the foreign population resident in Tuscany and also reported the experience at the Rheumatology Division of the University Hospital of Careggi, Florence, in order to identify the areas of origin of these patients and the main rheumatic diseases observed in them.

Methods. The collaboration with the Tuscan Region provided data about foreign patients residing in Tuscany on January 1, 2021 (country of origin, chronic diseases). Moreover, we conducted a retrospective review of the clinical charts of our Rheumatologic Division from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020.

Results. In Tuscany, on January 1, 2021, there were 61,373 patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, and 3994 of them (6.51%) were foreigners. Most patients were born in Europe (39.03%), followed by the Balkans (15%), South America (11.27%), and North Africa (10.31%). Inflammatory joint diseases, Sjögren syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus were the most frequent diseases. In the period 2019-2020, 511 foreign patients visited our Rheumatology Division and mainly originated from the Balkans (34.64%), South America (18%), and European countries (16.44%). In these patients, chronic inflammatory joint diseases and connective tissue diseases (systemic sclerosis, Sjögren syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus) were the most prevalent diseases.

Conclusions. This study provides a picture of the rheumatic diseases affecting foreign patients residing in Tuscany that are in agreement with the epidemiological data previously provided.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Shapira Y, Agmon-Levin N, Shoenfeld Y. Geoepidemiology of autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2010; 6: 468-76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2010.86
Chopra A, Abdel-Nasser A. Epidemiology of rheumatic musculoskeletal disorders in the developing world. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2008; 22: 583-604. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2008.07.001
Adelowo O, Mody GM, Tikly M, Oyoo O, Slimani S. Rheumatic diseases in Africa. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2021; 17: 363-74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00603-4
Gabriel SE, Michaud K. Epidemiological studies in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and comorbidity of the rheumatic diseases. Arthritis Res Ther 2009; 11: 229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/ar2669
Sangha O. Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2000; 39: 3-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/39.suppl_2.3
Chifflot H, Fautrel B, Sordet C, Chatelus E, Sibilia J. Incidence and prevalence of systemic sclerosis: a systematic literature review. Semin Arthritis Rheum 2008; 37: 223-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2007.05.003
ARS Toscana. Immigrati e salute in Toscana; 2011. Available from: https://www.ars.toscana.it/files/pubblicazioni/Volumi/2011/58_immigrati.pdf.
Khairallah M, Accorinti M, Muccioli C, Kahloun R, Kempen JH. Epidemiology of Behçet disease. Ocul Immunol Inflamm 2012; 20: 324-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/09273948.2012.723112
Watts RA, Hatemi G, Burns JC, Mohammad AJ. Global epidemiology of vasculitis. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2022; 18: 22-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00718-8

How to Cite

Cometi, L., Francesconi, P., Bellini, B., Turco, L., Voller, F., Nacci, F., … Guiducci, S. (2024). Rheumatic diseases in migrant patients resident in Tuscany: epidemiological data analysis and single-center experience. Reumatismo, 76(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2024.1547

Similar Articles

<< < 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.