Real-World Patient Experience on the Path to Diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis

• DOI: 10.1007/s40744-019-0153-7
• Publication Date: 2019-04-30T17:55:01Z
• Authors: Alexis Ogdie; W. Benjamin Nowell; Regan Reynolds; Kelly Gavigan; Shilpa Venkatachalam; Marie de la Cruz; Emuella Flood; Ethan J. Schwartz; Beverly Romero; Yujin Park
• Keywords: Back Pain; Medical History

We describe the journey to diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) from patient perspective and examine differences in this by sex.US adults aged ≥ 18 years with a self-reported AS were recruited online through CreakyJoints, support community, ArthritisPower, research registry. Respondents completed web-based survey on sociodemographics, disease burden, history. Results stratified sex time using two-sample t tests χ2 tests, respectively, observe across groups; P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Among 235 respondents, 174 (74.0%) female. Mean (SD) ages female male respondents 48.6 (10.6) 53.1 (10.3) years, respectively. From began seeking medical attention, 87 diagnosed within ≤ 1 year, 71 2-9 77 after 10 years. Symptoms that led seek treatment back pain (73.2%) joint (63.8%); fatigue difficulty sleeping more common among longer times diagnosis. During process, men tended receive quicker compared women. Overall, commonly reported initial diagnoses included problems psychosomatic disorders. Significantly women misdiagnoses fibromyalgia (20.7 vs. 6.6%) disorders (40.8 23.0%) men.Diagnosis delays AS. Increasing awareness about referring providers may minimize delay.Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Plain language summary available for article.