Generalized joint hypermobility among school-aged children in Majmaah region, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Sherif Sirajudeen,
Mohamed Waly,
Mazen Alqahtani,
Msaad Alzhrani,
Fahad Aldhafiri,
Hariraja Muthusamy,
Radhakrishnan Unnikrishnan,
Rashmi Saibannavar,
Wafa Alrubaia,
Gopal Nambi
Affiliations
Mohamed Sherif Sirajudeen
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Waly
Department of Medical Equipment Technology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Mazen Alqahtani
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Msaad Alzhrani
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Fahad Aldhafiri
Department of Public Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Hariraja Muthusamy
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Radhakrishnan Unnikrishnan
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Rashmi Saibannavar
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Wafa Alrubaia
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
Gopal Nambi
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia
Generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) is common among schoolchildren and usually benign. However, it may progressively lead to joint pain and developmental delay. Identifying GJH in school-aged children would facilitate the monitoring of early changes and planning for early rehabilitative intervention. Epidemiological studies addressing the prevalence of GJH among children in the Gulf region and Arab ethnicity are lacking. Hence, we aimed to determine the prevalence, pattern, and factors associated with GJH among school-aged children in the Majmaah region, Saudi Arabia. Male and female school-aged children 8–14 years of age from the Majmaah region of Saudi Arabia participated in this cross-sectional study. Beighton score was used to assess GJH. Personal characteristics such as age, height, weight, body mass index, and handedness were also collected. Descriptive statistics were obtained for personal characteristics, the point prevalence of hypermobility, frequency of Beighton score distribution, and prevalence of GJH. The associations between specific factors and the presence of GJH were analyzed using chi-square and Mann-whitney tests. Using the Beighton score cutoff ≥ 4 and ≥ 6, 15.2% and 7.6% of the school children in our study were diagnosed with GJH respectively. The prevalence of GJH was higher among females (16.8%) than among males (13.4%), but the difference was not statistically significant. The elbow joints (17.2%) were the most common hypermobile joints and the trunk (0.7%) was the least involved. The children with GJH were younger and had lesser BMI compared to children without GJH (P < 0.05). The prevalence reported in this study among school-aged children was comparable with those reported worldwide.
