Characteristics-People with Arthritis Pain
. • Among persons with arthritis pain, nearly two thirds (62%) are inactive or perform irregular activity compared to about half (54%) of those without arthritis pain. In general, individuals with arthritis are less active than individuals without arthritis pain.
. • Approximately 60% of those with arthritis pain are overweight or obese as compared with approximately 49% of those without arthritis pain.
. • The prevalence of smoking is approximately 21% in individuals both with and without arthritis pain.
. • Approximately the same percentages of individuals with arthritis (30%) as those without arthritis pain(26%) report an intake of five servings of fruit and vegetables per day.
. • Almost 40% of those with arthritis have received influenza vaccines in the past year compared to about 22% of those without arthritis.
. • Almost 20% of those with arthritis pain have ever received pneumococcal vaccines compared to about 11% of those without arthritis.
. • Hypertension is present in about 40% of those with arthritis compared to just 17% of those without arthritis pain.
. • Diabetes is present in about 10% of those with arthritis compared to about 3% of those without arthritis pain.
. • Among those adults who report having their blood cholesterol tested, high blood cholesterol is present in almost 40% of those with arthritis pain and about 23% of those without.
. • Among women aged 35 and over, the percentage who report having experienced a fracture of the hip, wrist, or spine due to falling is similar in those with arthritis (6%) and those without arthritis pain (4%).
Arthritis Pain Health Related
• The percentage of adults who describe their general health as fair or poor as opposed to good or excellent is about 27% among those with arthritis compared to only about 8% among those without arthritis.
. • Persons with arthritis experience an average of 9 unhealthy days (the sum of poor physical and mental health days) out of every 30 days while those without arthritis experience just 4 unhealthy days out of every 30 days.
. • Persons with arthritis experience approximately 4 days of poor health that keep them from doing their usual activities out of every 30 days. In contrast, persons without arthritis experience approximately 1 day of poor health out of every 30 days that keeps them from doing usual activities such as self-care, work, or recreation.
Arhtritis Pain Implications
While public health planning and policy are not within the scope of this report, a number of specific findings are brought to light in this report with implications for intervention and further studies.
1. 1. Implement primary prevention for youth and adults alike with specific focus on (a) prevention of overweight, obesity, sports injuries, and workplace injuries and (b) promotion and maintenance of exercise and physical activity as part of daily healthy living throughout the life span.
2. 2. Inform and educate people with arthritis about the specific type of arthritis they have via collaboration among patients, physicians, and public health providers.
3. 3. Target special populations including women, individuals aged 65 and over, those who are unable to work, and individuals with “undiagnosed” arthritis, i.e., those having chronic joint symptoms without a diagnosis.
4. 4. Direct intervention and prevention programs particularly towards individuals who have less than a college education.
5. 5. Concentrate interventions on the proven effective means of controlling arthritis: increasing exercise and decreasing weight.
6. 6. Since persons with arthritis suffer disproportionately from coexisting conditions, many of which can also be controlled in part by exercise and weight management, provide particular focus on these individuals and the interplay of their comorbidities. 7. Continue prevalence and impact studies on the state level as a means of initiating and monitoring the progress of prevention and intervention measures
