[Social risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (epidemiologic social-medical study)]

An epidemiological social-medical study was carried out in the section of IX polyclinic--Sofia, aiming at the establishment of the social risk factors effect upon the origination and course of the rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in view of the particularly social importance of the disease invalidity. The model is based on statistical methods for programmed computor processing. Two hundred and forty six subjects were examined, the basic group of 44 being with diagnosed RA according to the international criteria (0.35% from the population) and 2 control groups--patients with infectional alergic arthritis and healthy subjects. The assessment of the RA severity degree was performed according to the numeric method, elaborated for that purpose, based on the following criteria: number of the joints, kind of the joint involvement, functional capacity, patients' personal assessment of the difficulties due to the disease, disease duration, ESR, rheumatoid factor, X-ray changes according to the adopted four degrees. The following social factors were studied: occupation, kind of work, working conditions, financial status, education, home conditions, mode of life, activity in the leisure time. A statistically significant (correlation C with P less than 0,05--0,001) unfavourable effect of the following complex of risk social factors was established: 1. RA risk factors--unfavourable microclimatic working (C=0,24) and home (C=0.30) conditions: 2. Risk factors for RA invalidity--occupations with heavy physical work (C=0,40), wol income (C=0,31) and unfavourable home conditions (C=0,22). The results obtained will serve as a ground for concrete directed rheumatoid arthritis prophylaxis. That outlines the perspectives of similar studies for assessment of the effect of life environmental factors upon human health state.