Comparison of joint hypermobility in general and orthopaedic clinic population in south India

Background: Generalised joint hypermobility (GJH) is associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. Beighton score is universally used to measure hypermobility and the cut off score of ≥4 is quoted in literature to define GJH. No data exists on the prevalence of GJH in patients attending orthopaedic outpatients in India. Materials and methods: The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of GJH in the general versus orthopaedic patients. 406 patients attending a wellness clinic and 1780 patients attending orthopaedic outpatient clinic in a large private hospital in south India were scored for hypermobility using Beighton score. The mean age of the cohorts attending the wellness clinic and orthopaedic clinic was 33.47± 11.63 years and 36.37± 9.36 years respectively. There were more males than females recruited in the orthopaedic clinic. Results: The wellness group had significantly higher numbers in the 20 to 39 year age range compared to the orthopaedic group (p value