The Impact of Arthritis on Canadian Women

Elizabeth M Badley,Naomi M Kasman

doi:10.1186/1472-6874-4-s1-s18

Elizabeth M Badley, Naomi M Kasman

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-4-s1-s18

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Abstract

Health IssueArthritis is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in Canada and a leading cause of long-term disability, pain, and increased health care utilization. It is also a far more prevalent condition among women than men. Information was obtained primarily from the 1998–99 National Population Health Survey and the Canadian Joint Replacement Registry.Key FindingsIn 1998, the overall prevalence of self-reported arthritis or rheumatism in Canadian women was 20.0%. This rate increased to 55.6% among women over 75 years of age. Compared to women with chronic conditions, women with arthritis were more likely to experience long-term disability; report worse health; experience more pain; be dependent upon others and consult general practitioners, specialists, and physiotherapists more frequently. While men and women with arthritis under-utilize total joint replacement surgery, the degree of under-use was over three times greater for women.Data Gaps and RecommendationsThere is a lack of detailed information on the use of health care services by women with arthritis. There are also no systematic data available on the prescribing of medications, access to services such as assistive devices or exercise programs, or use of community support, self-management strategies, or rehabilitation services. The burden of arthritis both on women and on society is expected to increase as the population ages. A comprehensive health strategy to reduce the impact of arthritis is required to ensure that health and support services are available in a timely manner and provided in such a way to meet the needs of Canadian women.

Highlights

Arthritis is currently one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in Canada and is a leading cause of long-term disability, pain, and increased health care utilization[1,2] The term "arthritis" is defined as "inflammation of the joints," and it encompasses over 100 different conditions
In order to set the data on arthritis in women in a broader population health context, we present data on men with arthritis and various subgroups of women, including those with chronic conditions other than arthritis and those who report no chronic conditions
Arthritis was identified in the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) by asking respondents whether they had arthritis or rheumatism as a longterm chronic condition

Summary

Introduction

Arthritis is currently one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in Canada and is a leading cause of long-term disability, pain, and increased health care utilization[1,2] The term "arthritis" is defined as "inflammation of the joints," and it encompasses over 100 different conditions. Some conditions included under the "arthritis and rheumatism" designation are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis is a far more prevalent condition among women than among men [6,7,8,9,10]. Findings from numerous studies have shown that rheumatoid arthritis affects up to 2.5 times as many women as men and that the female:male ratio for osteoarthritis is approximately 2:1[9,11,12,13,14,15,16]. While there is currently no known cure for arthritis or rheumatism, there are various treatments available, including drugs, surgery, rehabilitation and self-manage-

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