21.2 percent of US adults had diagnosed arthritis from 2019 to 2021

An estimated 21.2 percent of U.S. adults had diagnosed arthritis from 2019 to 2021, with most cases among adults aged 45 years and older, according to research published in the Oct. 13 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Elizabeth A. Fallon, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues updated national prevalence estimates of self-reported diagnosed arthritis by analyzing combined 2019 to 2021 National Health Interview Survey data.

The researchers found that during this time frame, an estimated 21.2 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and older had diagnosed arthritis. The age-standardized prevalence rates were higher among women than men (20.9 versus 16.3 percent), among veterans than nonveterans (24.2 versus 18.5 percent), and among non-Hispanic white versus Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic Asian adults (20.1 percent versus 14.7 and 10.3 percent, respectively).

Of all U.S. adults with arthritis, 88.3 percent were adults aged 45 years and older. The unadjusted arthritis prevalence was high among adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dementia, disability, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, or cancer (57.6, 55.9, 54.8, 52.6, 51.5, 43.1, and 43.1 percent, respectively). Among adults aged 65 years and older with COPD, dementia, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, about one-half also had a diagnosis of arthritis.

"These estimates can be used to guide public health activities, policies, and resource allocation for improving arthritis-attributable health outcomes and associated health care costs," the authors write.

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