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Arthritis rising among working-age patients: Study


Michelle Wisbey


13/12/2024 2:31:39 PM

With diagnoses to jump by 31% in 15 years, experts say investment is needed before the disease impacts ‘productivity at a national level’.

Person in pain holding their knee.
The study revealed that annual health system spending on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis will exceed $11.9 billion by 2040.

Patients still of working age will be increasingly impacted by arthritis, causing ‘major implications for national workforce participation’, according to a new study.
 
Published in The Lancet Rheumatology, the new research aimed to project the burden of arthritis among adults and children in Australia to the year 2040.
 
It predicted that rates of the disease will increase by 31% in 15 years, with 5.4 million Australians to have arthritis in 2040.
 
This is 1.3 million more than the number of cases expected to occur in 2025.
 
The study also revealed that annual health system spending on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis will exceed $11.9 billion by 2040, if current spending levels continue.
 
‘As there is no cure for arthritis and a lack of effective prevention strategies, estimating how many people will likely be living with arthritis is essential for planning future health service needs,’ the research concludes.
 
And it is working-age patients expected to bear the brunt of the disease, with the research finding the number of patients aged 45–64 years old with arthritis will potentially increase from 1.5 million in 2025 to 1.8 million in just 15 years.
 
Professor Ilana Ackerman, research author and Deputy Director of the Monash University Musculoskeletal Health Unit, said it is crucial that healthcare professionals remember arthritis does not only impact older people, but also babies, children, adolescents, and adults of all ages.

‘Arthritis can affect people’s ability to undertake their work tasks and their ability to participate in the workforce,’ she said.
 
‘As our population grows, there will be more people of working age who are living with arthritis, and this has the potential to significantly impact productivity at a national level.’
 
Dr Ackerman said moving forward, further investment is needed to combat these rising rates, especially for patients living outside of Australia’s major cities.
 
‘We need to invest in effective prevention and high-value care that can improve outcomes for people living with arthritis,’ she said.
 
‘People living outside of metropolitan areas face greater challenges in accessing arthritis care, particularly specialist care including paediatric rheumatology for children living with juvenile arthritis.
 
‘It’s critical that people living in regional and rural areas can receive a diagnosis and the treatment they need in a timely manner.’
 
The researchers clarified that the model they used accounted for population growth and ageing, however they said they were unable to account for potential future changes in the national prevalence of arthritis impacted by factors including socioeconomic and environmental factors.
 
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Arthritis chronic disease The Lancet


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