CDC Reports on Impact of Arthritis
10/06/2006

“Arthritis has a serious impact on people’s lives. It’s alarming that 11.3 percent (23.2 million) of Americans - more people than the population of Texas - report symptoms of arthritis, but have never seen a doctor for help. Yet, early treatment is essential to avoid future limits on your daily activities.”

This was the reaction of John H. Klippel, MD, Arthritis Foundation President and CEO, when he heard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) report indicating that while 66 million people reported having chronic joint pain, only 43 million have been doctor-diagnosed as having arthritis.

Even more shocking are the CDC’s findings about activity and work limitations among people diagnosed with arthritis and the disparities of these limitations found in people of differing racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The study reports that arthritis is the most prevalent chronic condition and the most reported cause of disability in the United States. It also is the third leading cause of work limitations. Women are more likely to have arthritis than men and prevalence of arthritis increases with age. More than 1 in 3 adults diagnosed with arthritis reported activity limitations and 1 in 4 reported severe joint pain. Among the working-aged population (18-64) 30.6 percent of those diagnosed with arthritis attributed work limitations to their arthritis.

The study also reports that the black population (defined as non-Hispanic blacks) have a similar prevalence of arthritis to that of whites (defined as non-Hispanic whites). However, black people with arthritis report significantly higher instances of activity limitations, work limitations and severe joint pain attributed to arthritis than that of whites.

Also, while the Hispanic population reports a significantly lower prevalence of arthritis than whites, they have significantly higher instances of work limitations and severe joint pain.

Further studies are required to find the reasons for these ethnic/racial differences, but the CDC states that they might be related to:

• Differences in health-care access
• Use of available health-care services
• Willingness to report disease or limitations from disease
• Language barriers.

“This underscores the importance of accessibility to new medications and increased federal funding of arthritis research and chronic disease health support at a time when some arthritis medications are being questioned and the federal budget for public health efforts in arthritis is in danger of being cut,” says Klippel.

Learn about other efforts to reduce health disparities.