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• Thurston Fast Facts
  
• Impact of Arthritis
  
• Facts about Arthritis
  
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Impact and Cost of Arthritis

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• Arthritis is one of the fastest growing healthcare issues in the nation, increasing by 85% from 1990 to 2002.
  [National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2004]
• An estimated 46 million adults in the United States have some form of arthritis.
  [CDC; MMWR 2006;55(40):1089-1092. [Data Source: 2003-2005 NHIS]
• 80 percent of adults either have or know someone who has arthritis.
  [Arthritis Foundation Awareness Study, 2001].
• By 2030, it is estimated that 67 million American adults will have arthritis, in part related to the aging of the population, the obesity epidemic, and sedentary lifestyles.
  [Arthritis & Rheumatism 2006;54(1):226-229 [Data Source: 2003 NHIS]Arthritis affects all age groups, but it is more common as people get older. Among adults over age 65, 50% have arthritis.
• Arthritis is the most common cause of disability.
  [cdc.gov 2008]
• Arthritis is a more frequent cause of activity limitation than heart disease, cancer or diabetes. [Arthritis Foundation; American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (1999).
  Musculoskeletal Conditions in the United States, Rosemont, IL: AAOS]
• With 45 million lost work days each year, arthritis is second only to heart disease as a cause of work disability.
  [Arthritis Foundation, 2008; NIAMS, NIH, 2004]
• People with arthritis have significantly worse health-related quality of life than those without arthritis, reporting more than twice as many unhealthy days and three times as many days with activity limitations, as those without arthritis.
  [CDC; J Rheumatology 2003;30(1):160-6. [Data Source: 1996-1999 BRFSS]
• People with arthritis frequently develop major depression, likely because of the functional limitation that arthritis can cause.
  [Medical Care 2004;42(6):502-511. [Data Source: 1996 Health and Retirement Survey]
• Arthritis is responsible for 750,000 hospitalizations, is a major determinant of institutionalization in nursing homes, and results in 9,500 deaths each year.
  [CDC, 2008; NIAMS, NIH, 2004]
• Each year, arthritis costs the United States economy $128 billion in medical costs and lost productivity.
  [Arthritis Foundation, 2007; CDC, 2008]
• North Carolina has a higher frequency of arthritis than the US national average and has one of the highest projected rates of increase for the years ahead.
  [North Carolina Medical Journal, winter 2007]
• Just as the need for arthritis medical care is skyrocketing, the number of doctors training to be rheumatologists is decreasing, causing an impending critical shortage.
  [North Carolina Medical Journal, winter 2007]
• Despite this huge impact, less than 2% of the budget of the National Institutes of Health is devoted to arthritis research.
  [© 2008 The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States, boneandjointburden.org.]

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