Nov. 30, 2009 - Osteoarthritis (OA), a highly
prevalent disease among senior citizens, raised aggregate annual medical
care expenditures in the U.S. by $185.5 billion according to researchers
from Stony Brook University. Insurers footed $149.4 billion of the total
medical spend and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures were $36.1 billion
(2007 dollars).
Results of the cost analysis study are published in
the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the
American College of Rheumatology.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) estimate 27 million Americans suffer from OA with more women than
men affected by the disease. A new study says almost half of Americans
will be hit with OA if they live to age 85.
Forecasts indicate that by the year 2030, 25% of
the adult U.S. population, or nearly 67 million people, will have
physician-diagnosed arthritis. It is estimated that one-half of all
American senior citizens those age 65 or older have some form of
arthritis.
OA is a major debilitating disease causing gradual
loss of cartilage, primarily affecting the knees, hips, hands, feet, and
spine.
John Rizzo, Ph.D., and colleagues used data from
the 1996-2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to determine the
overall annual expected medical care expenditures for OA in the U.S.
The sample included 84,647 women and 70,590 men
aged 18 years and older who had health insurance. Expenditures for
physician, hospital, and outpatient services, as well expenditures for
drugs, diagnostic testing, and related medical services were included.
Healthcare expenses were expressed in 2007 dollars using the Medical
Care Component of the Consumer Price Index.
Researchers, using multivariable regression models,
determined annual insurer healthcare expenditures were $4,833 for women
and $4,036 for men. Out-of-pocket expenses were also higher in women
than men, at $1,379 and $694, respectively.
"Understanding the economic costs of OA is
important for payors, providers, patients, and other stakeholders,"
said. Rizzo.
"Our study clearly reflects the significant impact
of OA on U.S. healthcare spending."
Further analysis provided aggregate data based upon
arthritis prevalence rates reported in a study by Helmick et al., and
also published in Arthritis and Rheumatism (2008).
The current study determined that OA increased
insurer costs by $149.4 billion and OOP expenditures by 36.1 billion
annually, for an aggregate increase of $185.5 billion per year.
According to the authors women accounted for more of the expenditures
($118 billion) than men ($67.5 billion), reflecting the higher
occurrence of the disease among women.
In recent years the prevalence of OA has risen
rapidly and this trend is expected to continue. Increased awareness and
better screening to identify patients with OA may help to delay disease
progression and its debilitating effects which could mitigate costs to
insurers and patients.
"Our results suggest that patients with OA may
benefit from greater efforts to promote exercise, proper medication use,
and appropriate surgical treatments for the disease," concluded Dr.
Rizzo.
New CDC study on
Lifetime Risk of Osteoarthritis
Nearly
half of American adults may develop symptoms of osteoarthritis in at
least one knee by age 85.
A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention reports that the lifetime risk of knee osteoarthritis
(OA) with symptoms is nearly one in two, or 46%. The study authors also
found that nearly two in three obese adults will develop painful knee
osteoarthritis over their lifetime.
The study provides what are likely the first
lifetime risk estimates of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis in the United
States. Knee osteoarthritisa common form of arthritis that wears away
the cartilage cushioning the knee jointis a leading cause of arthritis
disability. In 2004, $14.3 billion were spent on hospital costs
associated with total knee replacements.
CDC led the study of lifetime risk and used data
from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis (JoCo) Project, a study of
approximately 3,200 residents, aged 45 and older, in rural North
Carolina. The JoCo Project, which receives CDC funding, is conducted by
researchers at the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The JoCo Project is one of the largest
long term studies of knee and hip osteoarthritis in the United States,
and is one of the first to include both blacks and whites.
Osteoarthritis
(OA): OA is a degenerative
joint disease characterized by the breakdown of joint cartilage, is the
most common form of arthritis, affecting nearly 27 million Americans,
most over the age of 45.
Rheumatoid
Arthritis (RA): In the United
States, nearly 1.3 million people have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a
systemic disease that affects the entire body and is characterized by
the inflammation of the membrane lining the joint, which causes pain,
stiffness, warmth, redness and swelling. There are 2.5 times as many
women as men with RA.
Age group
Women
Men
1824
4.5
2.4
2534
7.1
4.6
3544
14.7
10.4
4554
26.4
20.1
5564
42.9
31.8
6574
51.8
39.7
7584
58
46.5
85+
59.3
44.3
Lupus
is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the
body, especially the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys. It affects at
least 239,000 Americans and affects women eight to 10 times more than
men.
Gout: An
estimated 3 million Americans have gout. Gout causes sudden, severe
attacks of pain and tenderness, redness, warmth, and swelling in some
joints. Gout usually affects one joint at a time -- often the big toe.
Gout affects men more than women.
Fibromyalgia,
an arthritis-related condition that is characterized by generalized
muscular pain and fatigue affects approximately 5 million people, and it
occurs more commonly in women than in men.
● Arthritis
prevalence increases with age. Among adults over age 65, the prevalence
of arthritis is 50 percent.
● One-third of
the people that have doctor-diagnosed arthritis are over the age of 65.
● In 2002, 51% of
adults 75 years and over reported an arthritis diagnosis.
● The prevalence
of arthritis is higher among women (28.3%) than men (18.2%).
● If prevalence
rates remain stable, the number of affected persons ages 65 years and
older will nearly double to 41.1 million by 2030.
Arthritis annually
results in:
36
million ambulatory care visits
744,000 hospitalizations
9,367 deaths
19 million people with activity limitations
● Arthritis is a
more frequent cause of activity limitation than heart disease, cancer or
diabetes.
● Arthritis
affects more than half of adults with diabetes and heart disease.
How does the
Arthritis Foundation help?
The Arthritis
Foundation supports research, health education and government advocacy
efforts to improve the lives of the nearly 46 million Americans with
arthritis, the nations most common cause of disability
Nearly
half of American adults may develop symptoms of osteoarthritis in at
least one knee by age 85. 