Table 3.
Clinical factors according to time to diagnosis.
| Variables |
Time to diagnosis, n (%) |
p-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Within 1 year (n = 504) | 1–5 years (n = 265) | Over 5 years (n = 168) | Total (n = 937) | ||
| Sex (male) n (%) | 386 (77.7) | 201 (76.4) | 19 (77.2) | 716 (77.2) | 0.829 |
| Age >40 years | 246 (49.6) | 156 (60.2) | 130 (77.8) | 532 (57.7) | <0.001** |
| Disease duration (months)#,a | 72 (29–132) | 95.5 (41–180) | 96 (30–180) | 76 (36–144) | <0.005** |
| ≤5 years | 225 (48.2) | 95 (39.3) | 63 (39.9) | 383 (44.2) | 0.024* |
| >5 years | 242 (51.8) | 147 (60.7) | 95 (60.1) | 484 (55.8) | |
| Pain site (multiple responses allowed) | |||||
| Neck | 103 (20.4) | 62 (23.4) | 45 (26.8) | 210 (22.4) | 0.077 |
| Back | 73 (14.5) | 47 (17.7) | 38 (22.6) | 158 (16.9) | 0.014* |
| Lower back | 173 (34.3) | 95 (35.8) | 51 (30.4) | 319 (34.0) | 0.494 |
| Buttock/coccyx | 126 (25.0) | 93 (35.1) | 48 (28.6) | 267 (28.5) | 0.094 |
| Hip | 87 (17.3) | 52 (19.6) | 38 (22.6) | 177 (18.9) | 0.116 |
| Heel | 35 (6.9) | 19 (7.2) | 7 (4.2) | 61 (6.5) | 0.291 |
| Other | 88 (17.5) | 31 (11.7) | 17 (10.1) | 136 (14.5) | 0.007** |
| First diagnosis (multiple responses allowed) | |||||
| AS | 232 (45.8) | 67 (25.3) | 45 (26.8) | 344 (36.7) | <0.001** |
| Herniated disc | 59 (11.7) | 50 (18.9) | 40 (23.8) | 149 (15.9) | <0.001** |
| Not specific | 59 (11.7) | 43 (16.2) | 22 (13.1) | 124 (13.2) | 0.348 |
| Hip arthropathy | 53 (10.5) | 31 (11.7) | 23 (13.7) | 107 (11.4) | 0.263 |
| Chronic myalgia | 22 (4.4) | 22 (8.3) | 8 (4.8) | 52 (5.5) | 0.388 |
| Low back pain owing to poor posture | 18 (3.6) | 24 (9.1) | 18 (10.7) | 60 (6.4) | <0.001** |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 8 (1.6) | 11 (4.2) | 3 (1.8) | 22 (2.3) | 0.417 |
| Gout | 6 (1.2) | 3 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 9 (1.0) | 0.226 |
| Plantar fasciitis | 5 (1.0) | 3 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (0.9) | 0.324 |
| Uveitis | 2 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (1.8) | 5 (0.5) | 0.103 |
| Other | 46 (9.1) | 23 (8.7) | 13 (7.7) | 80 (8.5) | 0.588 |
| Symptoms and extra-articular manifestations (multiple responses allowed) | |||||
| Fatigue | 290 (57.5) | 168 (63.4) | 106 (63.1) | 564 (60.2) | 0.113 |
| Myalgia | 182 (36.1) | 120 (45.3) | 69 (41.1) | 371 (39.6) | 0.081 |
| Arthralgia | 179 (35.5) | 115 (43.4) | 56 (33.3) | 350 (37.4) | 0.825 |
| Depressed mood | 111 (22.0) | 74 (27.9) | 58 (34.5) | 243 (25.9) | 0.001** |
| Weight loss | 39 (7.7) | 21 (7.9) | 10 (6.0) | 70 (7.5) | 0.528 |
| Uveitis | 106 (21.0) | 69 (26.0) | 65 (38.7) | 240 (25.6) | <0.001** |
| Skin rash | 51 (10.1) | 34 (12.8) | 24 (14.3) | 109 (11.6) | 0.109 |
| Oral ulcer | 29 (5.8) | 21 (7.9) | 14 (8.3) | 64 (6.8) | 0.180 |
| Diarrhea, abdominal pain | 42 (8.3) | 23 (8.7) | 18 (10.7) | 83 (8.9) | 0.388 |
| Anterior chest pain | 88 (17.5) | 57 (21.5) | 37 (22.0) | 182 (19.4) | 0.125 |
| Pain in Achilles tendon | 83 (16.5) | 38 (14.3) | 27 (16.1) | 148 (15.8) | 0.733 |
| Dyspnea | 14 (2.8) | 17 (6.4) | 7 (4.2) | 38 (4.1) | 0.153 |
| Comorbid diseases | 218 (43.3) | 135 (50.9) | 101 (60.1) | 454 (48.5) | <0.001** |
#Kruskal–Wallis test or chi-square test was used to compare the three groups. Values are median (interquartile range) unless otherwise indicated. Comorbid diseases include those listed in Table 1.
*p<0.05, **p<0.005.
aSignificant difference between groups within 1 year and 1 to 5 years with Mann–Whitney U test.
AS, ankylosing spondylitis.