Arthritis in aging Canadians: prevalence and impact in the population

Arthritis is a leading chronic condition and cause of disability. The most frequent type is osteoarthritis, and it has been suggested that there may be a ‘metabolic’ sub-type of osteoarthritis when this condition affects multiple joints and is associated with obesity, hypertension, heart diseases and/or diabetes. The study goals are to describe: 1) the characteristics of people who report arthritis, and compare the impact on functioning, pain and general health to people with other chronic conditions or no chronic conditions; 2) To investigate the characteristics of people with osteoarthritis in terms of risk factors and disability, to identify subgroups by site of joints affected and in relationship to obesity and metabolic-associated comorbidities. This study will include the first report of the prevalence of self-reported osteoarthritis in Canada. Findings will inform The Arthritis Society priorities, highlight key areas for further research, and contribute to the emerging literature on ‘metabolic osteoarthritis’.

In examining participation in informal care giving, we found that despite reporting worse health outcomes, people with arthritis were similarly likely to report providing informal care as people without arthritis. For those with arthritis, this may impact their ability to engage in self-management activities. In examining the association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and osteoarthritis, we found the apparent association between BMI-defined obesity and having hand osteoarthritis did not hold when osteoarthritis of the knees was considered in combination with hand osteoarthritis. BMI distributions for any combination of joints including knee osteoarthritis were broader and shifted to higher BMI levels than those for hand or hip osteoarthritis.