| Demographic Group: | Resident persons aged >=18 years. |
| Numerator: | Respondents aged >=18 years who report having doctor-diagnosed arthritis and an activity limitation due to arthritis or joint symptoms. |
| Denominator: | Respondents aged >=18 years (excluding unknowns and refusals). |
| Measures of Frequency: | Annual prevalence with 95% confidence interval. |
| Time Period of Case Definition: | Current. |
| Background: | There are about 46 million adults with doctor-diagnosed arthritis and 18.9 million have arthritis-attributable activity limitation. By 2030, 25 million (9.3% of the adult population) are projected to report arthritis-attributable activity limitations.* In 2003 arthritis cost an estimated $128 billion (direct medical and indirect costs). ** |
| Significance: | Monitoring the prevalence of arthritis-attributable activity limitation among the general population of adults is important for estimating the state-specific burden of arthritis, the need for intervention programs to reduce the disabling effects of arthritis, and to estimate how well existing intervention programs are working. These programs include self-management education programs that have been shown to reduce pain and costs, and physical activity programs that have been shown to improve physical function, mental health, and quality of life. |
| Limitations of Indicator: | Doctor-diagnosed arthritis is self-reported in BRFSS and was not confirmed by a health-care provider or objective monitoring; however, such self-reports have been shown to be acceptable for surveillance purposes***. Activity limitation is also self-reported. Comparisons of tabular data between states should be made with caution because the prevalence estimates are not adjusted for population characteristics (e.g., age) that might explain state-to-state differences. Unadjusted data are presented in this report to provide actual estimates to help in state-level program planning. |
| Data Resources: | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/index.htm |
| Limitations of Data Resources: | As with all self-reported sample surveys, BRFSS data might be subject to systematic error resulting from noncoverage (e.g., lower telephone coverage among populations of low socioeconomic status, exclusion of people without land lines, persons in the military, or those residing in institutions), nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), or measurement (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). |
| Healthy People 2010 Objectives: | 2-2. Reduce the proportion of adults with doctor-diagnosed arthritis who experience a limitation in activity due to arthritis or joint symptoms. |
