Incidence of Joint Hypermobility Syndrome in a Military Population: Impact of Gender and Race

Background Joint hypermobility syndrome is defined by abnormal laxity in multiple joints in association with symptomatic joint pain. Previous studies in small populations suggest a predominance of female gender and nonwhite race among those diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome. Questions/purposes We investigated the epidemiology of joint hypermobility in a large military population, presuming this syndrome would be less prevalent in this specialized population but that demographic analysis would reveal risk factors for this rare condition. Methods We queried the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database by race, gender, military service, and age for the years 1998 to 2007 using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision code 728.5 (hypermobility syndrome). Results We identified 790 individuals coded for joint hypermobility syndrome among a population at risk of 13,779,234 person-years for a raw incidence rate of 0.06 per 1000 person-years. Females had a higher incidence rate for joint hypermobility syndrome compared with males. Racial stratification showed service members of white race had higher rates of joint hypermobility syndrome compared with service members categorized as black and “other.” Conclusions In a large, established military database it appears joint hypermobility syndrome is a rare condition within the young, active population we studied and female gender is the most important risk factor. Level of Evidence Level II, prognostic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.