Arthritis in Australia

Access Economics estimates that there are 3.85 million Australians with arthritis (nearly 1 in 5 Australians), including 1.62 million with osteoarthritis (OA) and 0.51 million with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Overall, arthritis was more prevalent among women, with 19.9% of women estimated to have some form of arthritis in 2007 compared to 17.1% of men. An estimated 61.3% of people with OA and 57.1% of people with RA are women. 62% or 2.4 million of those with arthritis are in the working age population (15-64). Prevalence rates among men are broadly correlated with age, peaking at 50% for the over-85s. Access Economics estimates that in 2007 the allocated health system expenditure associated with arthritis is $4.2 billion - $1,100 per person with arthritis. In 2007, the total cost of arthritis is estimated to be $23.9 billion, of which almost half is the value of the loss of healthy life. Access Economics estimates that in 2007 the total cost of informal care for people with arthritis is $1.01 billion. This equates to $262 per person with arthritis in 2007. Obesity is an important risk factor for osteoarthritis; obese people are around 2.4 times as likely to have OA as people of normal weight, while overweight people are 35% more likely to have OA. Overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25-30 and obesity as BMI over 30. BMI is the ratio of weight in kilograms to the square of height in metres. If obesity continued to grow at the rates witnessed over the last ten years, by 2050, 46.6% of men and 34.8% of women would be obese.

Including pain and suffering, total costs amounted to $23.9 billion in 2007.

Arthritis – The Queensland Picture

In 2007, there were 744,447 Queenslanders with arthritis, 18.1% of the population. 399,001 are female, 53.6% of the arthritis population. 345,445 are male, 46.4% of the arthritis population. 461,557 are of working age (15 – 64 years), 62% of the arthritis population. In 2007, the total cost of arthritis in Queensland was estimated as $4.53 billion Health system costs of arthritis in Queensland were $841.4 million, Other financial costs of $1.423billion, and Cost of suffering of $2.266 billion By 2050 it is projected that 1,755,000 Queenslanders will have arthritis, 23.4% of the population. Which represents: 135.8% increase in persons, and 29.7% increase in prevalence In 2007, Arthritis Queensland spent $1,256,443 providing services to Queenslanders with musculoskeletal conditions.  Queensland Health contributed $38,997, the balance $1,217,446 had to be found from the Queensland community.

Including pain and suffering, total costs in 2007, amounted to $3.6 billion.

 More information is available from Arthritis Australia.