Rheumatic disease in the Nuu-Chah-Nulth native Indians of the Pacific Northwest.

TLDR

The Nuu‑Chah‑Nulth are a tribe of 2,300 Pacific Northwest native Indians. These findings are compared with rheumatic disease in other North American Indians. A retrospective study identified 157 patients referred to rheumatologists over 15 years. Among those patients, rheumatoid arthritis was most common (23 cases), followed by systemic lupus erythematosus (8), sacroiliitis (5), Reiter’s syndrome (1), with 9 overlap syndromes; other disorders included osteoarthritis (10), soft‑tissue rheumatism (14), musculoskeletal complaints (12), and 75 patients experienced weather‑dependent joint swelling (52) or polyarthralgia (23), sometimes accompanied by systemic connective‑tissue disease features.

Abstract

The Nuu-Chah-Nulth are a tribe of 2,300 Pacific Northwest native Indians. A retrospective study has identified 157 requiring referral to rheumatologists over 15 years. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was found in 23, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 8, sacroiliitis 5, and Reiter's syndrome 1. Overlap syndromes with combinations of RA, SLE, scleroderma and polymyositis were seen in 9. Other rheumatic disorders included osteoarthritis 10, soft tissue rheumatism 14, and musculoskeletal complaints of known etiology (trauma, infection, neoplasm) 12. The remaining 75 patients suffered from periodic weather dependent joint swelling (52) or polyarthralgia (23) which were sometimes accompanied by features of systemic connective tissue disease. These findings are compared with rheumatic disease in other North American Indians.