Ankylosing Spondylitis; Symptoms, Treatments, Causes And More

Risk Factors Associated With AS

According to the Centers for Disease Control(CDC), it is estimated that 2.7 million people over the age of eighteen suffer from ankylosing spondylitis in the United States alone. Risk factors include having the HLA-B27 genetic marker, although only some people with the gene develop the condition. Researchers have found a strong correlation between a family history of AS and development of the disease. Individuals have a fifteen percent greater chance of developing AS when one parent also has the HLA-B27 marker. Studies conducted at the National Institute of Health also report frequent bacterial gastrointestinal infections as an influential precursor in disease development.