Original Articles
Vol. 76 No. 1 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2024.1547

Rheumatic diseases in migrant patients resident in Tuscany: epidemiological data analysis and single-center experience

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Published: 22 March 2024
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Migrant patients, rheumatologic diseases, epidemiology, Tuscany

Authors

L. Cometi
lauracometi@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7710-5025
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Florence, Italy.
P. Francesconi
Regional Health Authority, Florence, Italy.
B. Bellini
Regional Health Authority, Florence, Italy.
L. Turco
Regional Health Authority, Florence, Italy.
F. Voller
Regional Health Authority, Florence, Italy.
F. Nacci
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Florence, Italy.
S. Bellando-Randone
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Florence, Italy.
M. Matucci-Cerinic
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Florence; Unit of Immunology, Rheumatology, Allergy and Rare Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
S. Guiducci
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Florence, Italy.

Objective. In the last decades, the number of foreigners in Tuscany has considerably increased with a multiethnic distribution. We reviewed the main rheumatic diseases in the foreign population resident in Tuscany and also reported the experience at the Rheumatology Division of the University Hospital of Careggi, Florence, in order to identify the areas of origin of these patients and the main rheumatic diseases observed in them.

Methods. The collaboration with the Tuscan Region provided data about foreign patients residing in Tuscany on January 1, 2021 (country of origin, chronic diseases). Moreover, we conducted a retrospective review of the clinical charts of our Rheumatologic Division from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020.

Results. In Tuscany, on January 1, 2021, there were 61,373 patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, and 3994 of them (6.51%) were foreigners. Most patients were born in Europe (39.03%), followed by the Balkans (15%), South America (11.27%), and North Africa (10.31%). Inflammatory joint diseases, Sjögren syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus were the most frequent diseases. In the period 2019-2020, 511 foreign patients visited our Rheumatology Division and mainly originated from the Balkans (34.64%), South America (18%), and European countries (16.44%). In these patients, chronic inflammatory joint diseases and connective tissue diseases (systemic sclerosis, Sjögren syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus) were the most prevalent diseases.

Conclusions. This study provides a picture of the rheumatic diseases affecting foreign patients residing in Tuscany that are in agreement with the epidemiological data previously provided.

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