[Epidemiology and patient management in the area of spondyloarthritis]

Within the group of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, spondyloarthropathy is the most common diagnosis after rheumatoid arthritis. Its prevalence was long underestimated. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and undifferentiated spondyloathropathy (uSpA) are the most common subgroups in western countries. There are still difficulties in diagnosis especially of the early forms of the spondyloarthropathies. Data of socioeconomics and therapeutic options are limited. In more recent times, researchers have started to investigate the burden of disease and the socioeconomic aspects. Better diagnostic options are available and promising new therapeutic agents, especially TNF-alpha blocking agents, have been investigated. However, further studies are urgently needed for this underestimated group of diseases and are currently being performed inside the German rheumatology network.