Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) has an incidence rate of 1.8 per 1, 000 person-years in the general population.* However, in a study evaluating GTPS in Unites States servicemen and women, the incidence rate was higher at 2.03 per 1, 000 person-years. This study of the military population, conducted by Drs. Elizabeth Blank, Brett D. Owens, Robert Burks, and Philip J. Belmont, used Multivariate Poisson regression analysis to estimate the rate of GTPS per 1, 000 person-years, controlling for sex, race, age, rank, and branch of service.
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome, also known as trochanteric bursitis, is a musculoskeletal disorder characterized by hip pain. GTPS is currently diagnosed by lateral hip pain, tenderness or throbbing directly above or behind the greater trochanter, and either pain at the extremes of rotation, abduction, and adduction; pain with resisted hip abduction; or pseudoradiculopathy. Although, the exact etiology of GTPS remains uncertain, it is often considered an overuse syndrome and would thus be more common in active individuals.
To investigate this belief, the study’s authors looked into the U.S. Armed Forces, who represent a physically active population with high occupational demands. By analyzing the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED), the authors were able to determine the incidence rate of GTPS per 1, 000 person-years according to sex, age, race, rank, and branch of service. The DMED classifies race into white, black, and other. Age is divided into younger than 20, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and 40 and older. Rank categories are junior enlisted (E1-E4), senior enlisted (E5-E9), junior officers (O1-O3), and senior officers (O4-O9). The branches of service are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.
After evaluating the data, the authors published their results in a study titled, “Incidence of Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome in Active Duty US Military Service members.” Out of an at-risk population of 13, 443, 221 person-years, a total of 27, 335 cases of greater trochanteric pain syndrome were documented during the study period. Thus, the overall incidence rate of GTPS among the military service members was 2.03 per 1, 000 person-years.
When the various categories were investigated, the incidence rate was 6.16 per 1, 000 person-years among women and 1.33 per 1, 000 person years among men. In the age category, the highest incidence rates of GTPS were seen in the younger than 20 and older than 40 age groups with rates of 2.94 and 3.23 per 1, 000 person-years, respectively. For whites, the incidence rate of GTPS was 2.03 per 1, 000 person-years, for blacks the rate was 2.26 per 1, 000 person-years, and in the other category, the incidence rate was 1.61 per 1, 000 person years. The incidence rate among the rank groups was 2.26 for junior enlisted, 1.58 for junior officers, 1.85 for senior enlisted, and 2.56 for senior officers per 1, 000 person-years. The GTPS incident rate among the four branches was 3.15 for the Army, 1.09 for the Navy, 1.67 for the Air Force, 1.65 for the Marines per 1, 000 person-years.
*According to Clinical Key: https://www.clinicalkey.com/topics/physical-medicine-rehabilitation/trochanteric-bursitis.html
