Genetic Determinants of Ankylosing Spondylitis Severity - Longitudinal Study

Exclusion Criteria

• •Participants will:
• •1. have been diagnosed with AS by the modified New York criteria.
• •2. be able to read English or Spanish
• •Potential participants will be excluded if:
• •1. have a spondyloarthropathy other than AS
• •2. are unable to provide informed consent
• •3. anticipate not being available or able to comply with the schedule of study visits
• •Study entry is not limited by sex or ethnic origin. Children will necessarily be excluded because spondyloarthropathy developing before age 16 is considered a form of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and because different age-appropriate measures of functional disability and pain would be needed.
• •Participants will be recruited by physician referral and self-referral. Information about the study will be mailed to local rheumatologists and posted on the NIH website. Notices will also be sent to local chapters of the Arthritis Foundation and the Spondylitis Association of America.
• •The accrual ceiling will be unlimited. Approximately 700 patients will be enrolled from all study sites. Approximately 150 patients will be recruited at the NIH. Other sites participating in this study are Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; the University of California-San Francisco, and University of Texas-Houston Health Sciences Center.