[Epidemiologic aspects of seronegative spondylarthritis]

In accordance with the prevailing trends of the development of science in rheumatology Wright, Moll and Haslock inaugurated the integrative conception of the seronegative spondarthritides in the middle of the seventies. The diseases which belong to the seronegative spondarthritides are the ankylosing spondylitis, the psoriasis-arthritis, the Reiter syndrome, the Behçet syndrome, the ulcerous colitis, Crohn's disease and Whipple's disease. Object of the representation is the determination of the notion of seronegative spondarthritis and its presence among the dwelling population. Furthermore, the authors deal more in detail with the distribution according to the demographic and ethnographic characteristics, the frequency of the presence of HLA B 27 as well as with the results of familial investigations (familial aggregation and association). The heuristic value of the classification scheme of the seronegative spondarthritides developed by clinics appears worth of discussion, since from the epidemiological point of view aggravating critical objections concerning the method must be raised. Clinico-epidemiological statements of investigation, prospective and multicentric longitudinal investigations concerning the more profound study of the "natural history" of the seronegative spondarthritides are hopeful and necessary within the future research strategy.