Pain of psychogenic origin can be as frequently related to the musculoskeletal system as it is to the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. We report here two patients who presented with rheumatic pains. Both were subsequently found to have an underlying psychogenic disorder though they were initially diagnosed to have a distinct rheumatic disease. It is easy for doctors to create nondisease when diagnosis is based mainly on investigative results. The practical points in recognising such patients are briefly discussed.
This paper discusses the spectrum of rheumatic diseases seen over a 24-month period from January 1986 to December 1987. Rheumatoid arthritis was the commonest rheumatic disorder seen, comprising of 47.1 % of all cases and ankylosing spondylitis was among the least frequent (0.9%). Most of the rheumatic diseases reported in the West are also seen in Malaysia. However, results of this study which is based on the hospital population may not be representative of the spectrum of rheumatic diseases in the our population.
Key words: Epidemiology, occurence, rheumatic diseases, Malaysia
Study site: Rheumatology clinics, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia