Genetic Determinants of Ankylosing Spondylitis Severity
Ankylosing Spondylitis
About this trial
This is an observational trial for Ankylosing Spondylitis focused on measuring Arthritis, Spondyloarthropathy, Spine, Hereditary, Disability, Ankylosing Spondylitis, AS, Spondyloarthritis
Eligibility Criteria
INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Participants will: have been diagnosed with AS by the modified New York criteria have had AS for 20 years or more. The duration of AS will be dated from the time of onset of symptoms of inflammatory low back pain or restricted spinal motion be able to read English. Potential participants will be excluded if: onset of AS was at age 16 or younger have a spondyloarthropathy other than AS are unable to provide informed consent. Study of patients with AS for 20 years or more will provide a sample with a greater proportion of patients who will have developed the outcomes of interest. All participants will necessarily be age 37 or older. Study entry is not limited by sex or ethnic origin. English literacy is required because the functional status questionnaires used in the study have not been developed and validated in many languages other than English. In particular, the HAQ-S has been validated in only English, Dutch, and Finnish. The BASFI has been validated in English, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, German, and French. Each of these validation studies consists of a single report. Monolingual speakers of these languages are likely to be rare in our area. Potential participants will be recruited by physician referral and self-referral. Information about the study will be mailed to local rheumatologists and posted on the NIH website. Notices will also be sent to local chapters of the Arthritis Foundation and the Spondylitis Association of America. Study of first-degree relatives: Participants will be: Parent, sibling, or child (age 18 or older) of an enrolled subject. Able to provide informed consent. Family members may by asymptomatic or have signs or symptoms of AS or a condition in the spondyloarthropathy family. There is no requirement for a minimum number of members per family to be eligible for participation. The recruitment ceiling will be unlimited. Approximately 500 subjects will be recruited from all study sites. The target sample for the primary analyses will be 400 eligible subjects. Approximately 150 subjects will be recruited at the NIH.
Sites / Locations
- Cedars Sinai Medical Center