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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Osteoarthritis Leads Surge of Rheumatic Disease Creating
Major Public Health Challenge
Report shows prevalence of arthritis and other
rheumatic conditions in U.S.
March 4, 2008 - Few senior citizens in the U.S.
will be surprised to learn that arthritis is the most common cause of
disability in the United States. According to recent estimates by the
National Arthritis Data Workgroup, more than 21 percent of U.S. adults
have arthritis or another rheumatic condition that has been diagnosed.
This is over 46 million Americans, but the number is projected to shoot up to 67
million by 2030.
Over the next 25 years as the Baby Boom generation
continues to age, the toll of these diseases will skyrocket. This
explosion will primarily be driven by increases in the most prevalent
arthritis – osteoarthritis – which most often strikes older people.
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Read the latest news on Senior
Health & Medicine |
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By age 65, half of the population has x-ray
evidence of osteoarthritis in at least one joint, most often in the
hips, knees, or fingers. (See more below news report.)
The National Arthritis Data Workgroup was formed to
provide a single source of national data on various rheumatic
conditions. It is supported by the National Institutes of Health, the
Centers for Disease Control, the American College of Rheumatology, and
the Arthritis Foundation. The goal is a clear picture of the looming
disease burden and its impact on our nation’s health care and public
health systems.
The group’s latest report was presented in the
January 2008 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Based on analyses of population estimates from the
Census Bureau, responses from national surveys, and findings from scores
of community-based studies across the country, the National Arthritis
Data Workgroup offers an unsettling snapshot of the 2005 (and future)
burden of arthritis.
Some key findings of the study include:
● Overall arthritis:
>> More than 21 percent of U.S. adults—over 46 million people-- have
arthritis or other rheumatic condition diagnosed by a doctor.
>> Nearly two-thirds of arthritis patients are younger than 65.
>> More than 60 percent are women.
>> Disease rates are similar for whites and African-Americans and
higher than the rates for Hispanics.
>> By 2030, the number of people with arthritis is projected to
increase to nearly 67 million—an increase of 40 percent.
● Osteoarthritis (OA):
>> Nearly 27 million Americans suffer from OA, the most common type
of arthritis, an increase from the 21 million estimated in 1990.
>> Rising with age, OA prevalence also affects
the hands and knees of women more frequently than men and of African
Americans more frequently than whites.
● Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA):
>> This confounding and destructive inflammatory disease affects 1.3
million adults, down from the 1990 estimate of 2.1 million--in part due
to more restrictive classification criteria but also because of a real
drop in prevalence .
>> Trends show that the average age of diagnosis has increased
steadily over time, suggesting that RA is becoming a disease of older
adults.
● Gout:
>> In 2005 roughly 3 million Americans had gout in the previous 12
months, up from the estimate of 2.1 million in 1990.
>> An inflammatory arthritis linked to elevated uric acid in the
blood, gout tends to be most prevalent among older men and more
prevalent in older African American males than in older white or
Hispanic males.
● Juvenile Arthritis:
>> Based on recent data from pediatric ambulatory care visits, an
estimated 294,000 children between the ages of infancy and 17 are
affected by arthritis or other rheumatic conditions.
● Associated diseases:
>> The report also includes 2005 prevalence estimates for
fibromyalgia, spondylarthritides, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic
sclerosis, Sjögren’s syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, polymyalgia
rheumatic/giant cell arteritis, and back and neck pain.
“Measuring the prevalence of arthritis poses many
challenges,” acknowledges National Arthritis Data Workgroup spokesperson
and member, Dr. Charles G. Helmick.
For starters, some conditions are episodic and
others have no standard case definition. In addition, estimates for some
rheumatic conditions rely on small or older studies with results that
might not apply to the current U.S. population.
However, this report calls attention to the high
prevalence of arthritis nationwide and the growing burden on not only
our health care and public health systems, but also on American industry
and society.
More About Arthritis from MedlinePlus
If you feel pain and stiffness in your body or have
trouble moving around, you might have arthritis. Most kinds of arthritis
cause pain and swelling in your joints. Joints are places where two
bones meet, such as your elbow or knee. Over time, a swollen joint can
become severely damaged. Some kinds of arthritis can also cause problems
in your organs, such as your eyes or skin.
One type of arthritis,
osteoarthritis,
is often related to aging or to an injury. Other types occur when your
immune system, which normally protects your body from infection, attacks
your body's own tissues.
Rheumatoid
arthritis is the most common form of this kind of arthritis.
Juvenile
rheumatoid arthritis is a form of the disease that happens in
children.
By National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at MedlinePlus –
click to page
Links
●
Arthritis
(Patient Education Institute) Interactive Tutorial -
Requires Flash Player - Also available in
Spanish
●
Arthritis Advice
(National Institute on Aging) Also available in
Spanish
●
Do I Have
Arthritis? (National Institute of
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also available
in
Spanish
Editor’s Notes:
Article: “Estimates of the Prevalence of Arthritis
and Other Rheumatic Conditions in the United States, Part I and Part
II,” Charles G. Helmick, David T. Felson, Reva C. Lawrence, Sherine
Gabriel, Rosemarie Hirsch, C. Kent Kwoh, Matthew H. Liang, Hilal Maradit
Kremers, Maureen D. Mayes, Peter A. Merkel, Stanley R. Pillemer, John D.
Reveille, John H. Stone, Lesley M. Arnold, Hyon Choi, Richard A. Deyo,
Marc C. Hochberg, Gene G. Hunder, Joanne M. Jordan, Jeffrey N. Katz, and
Frederick Wolfe for the National Arthritis Data Workgroup; Arthritis &
Rheumatism, January 2008, 58:1.
Link:
http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritis
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