Histocompatibility type and racial incidence in frozen shoulder.

An increased prevalence of histocompatibility antigen HLA-B27 has been reported previously in patients with peri-arthritis or adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder, or frozen shoulder (FS). In 50 patients who had frozen shoulder unassociated with a primary illness, HLA-B27 was detected in only two (4%), a frequency which did not differ significantly from controls. In our series, 12 (24%) of the patients were black persons. Although frozen shoulder probably occurs with greater frequency in white individuals, the difference may not be as great as reported previously.