Detection of suspected inflammatory joint disease with a new simple self-administered hand test

A self-administered hand test was used to screen 5262 persons aged 40-70 living in a rural district in southern Sweden. It revealed evidence of hand impairment in 13%. The prevalence of RA was 1.1%. At the screening procedure a subgroup of 48 previously unrecognized individuals with inflammatory joint disease was identified. They were assessed by a rheumatologist, who established the following diagnoses: four definite RA, eight probable RA, three psoriatic arthritis, one unclassifiable arthritis, 10 osteoarthritis and 22 non-specific arthralgia. No advanced RA was detected. Two were seropositive and another was erosive. One with RA, one with psoriatic arthritis and three with arthralgic symptoms were unable to work. Most had only a minor need for further medical aid. The test was thus able to identify persons with hand impairment. Follow-up studies will address the practical implications of the screening procedure.